Slayer of Pandora
by XAgent-Venom666X
Summary: Being saved from death and reborn in another world was a stretch of the imagination. Having to fight the legions of Hell itself and stopping a demonic invasion, even more so. Being betrayed and sent to a savage planet in the midst of a war with the fate of countless in the balance? Good thing Mason learned to adapt. But can he save this world when Hell follows in his wake?
1. Prologue: Death and Rebirth

**_A/N: Been going through my stories as of late, and after culling my list a bit, which resulted in the deletion of a couple, I decided to put a new harbinger story out there that has yet to be thought of._**

**_To do this, I went through my old archive from stories past and put something together that I believe is unique in its own right. And with the release of Borderlands 3 months ago and the upcoming release of DOOM Eternal this March, I couldn't think of a crossover that couldn't be better than the Doomslayer on Pandora._**

**_Even more so, I brought back my old OC (Mason Riley) from my original fic 'A Slayer's Journey' to tie it together from a different perspective._**

_**I know I have a lot of stories out there that are still in progress. But much like my old predecessor my inspiration is sporadic at best and fleeting at worse. I know it's frustrating for you all at times, but it's even more so with me. I'd much rather take a hiatus on certain stories and try others for a while then try to force my way through a writer's block and mess up something good. All I can ask from my fans and readers is patience.**_

_**All that aside, I hope you all get a kick out of this one. Badasses are about to meet the biggest badass of them all!**_

_**(Bethesda Studios, ID software, 2K and Gearbox own all rights owed.)**_

**X**

**My name, is Mason Riley. I'm writing this so that no one gets confused or believes me to be crazy...then again, with everything that has happened to me I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking me to be crazy.**

**I grew up in an orphanage, with no knowledge of my life much before the age of four. Everything was just a big blur, and I get a headache whenever I try to push myself to remember.**

**The other kids avoided me, I was...different. Whenever we were all outside playing they would think I was cheating at what ever games we were playing because I seemed to be faster and stronger than everyone else my age. Even some of the older kids had a rough time keeping up with me.**

**The people running the orphanage always said that I was unique, and that unique was a good thing. But I was still an outcast. Usually playing by myself or reading in the library, I was content...but lonely.**

**When I turned five, I was adopted by William and Annette Riley. They were kind and gentle people, Annette was barren and couldn't have children and they had agreed to adopt. With my jet-black hair and silver-blue eyes I could have passed for their son even though I wasn't blood related.**

**They brought me home and loved me like their own instantly. The void in my life being filled now that I had a family.**

**The Riley's were well off, both of them being high-paid bankers that invested their money very well. Though they didn't care much about their material wealth, they loved the simple things in life and raised me with the same morals and ethics. **

**As the years went by I adapted well to my new life, going to school and getting high marks in all of my classes with scholarships to several colleges around the US. I had also taken up physical training, after discovering how strong and fast I was my adopted father wanted me to use it in a positive way. So I took up weight lifting and kick-boxing as a way for me to train myself and keep my body in peak condition.**

**Life was good, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the universe.**

**Then it all changed in the blink of an eye.**

**About three months after I started attending college in New York I got a phone call from home. My parents had been in a car accident, drunk-driver behind the wheel of a semi lost control and slammed into their car killing them instantly.**

**My world came crashing down, after worrying the hell out of my friends and teachers I managed to pull myself together and made the trip down to Rhoad Island where I grew up. The funeral was a beautiful affair, friends of my adopted family gave me their condolences and offered to help me in anyway that they could if I needed it.**

**When everything was all said and done I went to our family home. A home that was on a six acre field along the coast facing the Atlantic ocean.**

**It was a beautiful place...but it felt so empty now that I was all alone again.**

**A few days after the funeral, I met with the lawyer handling my parents' will. I had known him since I was first adopted and considered him an uncle with how good a friend he was to my folks. **

**He explained to me that my parents had left me everything. Their home, cars, money and stocks that were still being well maintained. None of it mattered, nothing would bring them back and materialism didn't appeal to me since they raised me that way.**

**After making sure that everything was in order I returned to the house and went down memory lane, looking through photo albums and remembering all the good times I had with them. I decided to take some time off from school to get my head back on straight, calling my teachers and friends and telling them to e-mail me the assignments and notes and I'll be sure that everything was sent in before they were due. No one had an issue with it and told me to take all the time that I needed.**

**In no time at all a week had come and gone as I finished settling my parents' affairs, spending time at home and driving into town every other day. I still felt empty from the loss I had suffered, but being there filled me with a bit of serenity that helped me through the grief.**

**I had no idea of knowing that things were about to take a turn for the strange...and cast me into a situation that will forever be a one for the history books. One where the fate of countless hung in the balance. **

**My parents had always told me from the day I was adopted that I was special, that I was born to do great things one day...they had no idea how right they were.**

**X**

Mason sat up in bed, blinking the last of the grogginess from his vision as he came back to reality. Running a hand across his face and over his freshly buzz cut hair. Standing up, he made his way over to the bathroom attached to the bedroom and flicked the light on, squinting through the brightness of the lights as he approached the sink and splashed water on his face.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the last week since he had gotten here. The loss of his parents still very fresh in his mind. Part of him still not believing that they were gone, they were the first people in his life that he could remember that showed him love and care. They may not have been blood, but they treated him like their son and raised him as such.

Wiping the water away, he looked at his reflection. At 19 years old, he stood at 6''1' and built like an athlete. All of the physical training he had gone through bulking him up in a way that had many girls back at school doing a double take.

His piercing blue eyes looked back at him with a dull shine in them. Scanning over his face briefly, his once jet black-hair was shaved down to stubble and a slight five o'clock shadow that marred his face. The dark circles under his eyes from the few hours of sleep he had lost in the last couple days showing in the dull light as he sighed. Switching off the light and heading back into the bedroom and flopping back on the bed.

Grabbing his iphone from the bedside table and checking the time, he saw that it was just after three in the morning. "Dammit." he muttered realizing another night of sleep had eluded him once again.

A familiar symbol for messages in his voicemail box blinked in the top right corner and he clicked on it along with the speaker.

**"You have 2 unheard messages."** said the automated voice. **"First unheard message;"**

_"Hey, Mason. It's Bryce. Haven't heard from ya in a couple of days. Jessie and I have been pretty worried about you, hell a lot of us back here on campus are. Just give us a call back and let us know you're okay. Later man."_

He tapped the delete button when it finished. **"Deleted."**

_"...Mason? It's Miranda."_ Mason rolled his eyes hearing the voice of his ex-girlfriend. _"I just heard about what happened with your parents. Look, I know we didn't end things on the best of terms, but I wanted to say how sorry I am. They were good people. And...I wanted to know if we could talk sometime. About what happened-"_

**"Deleted. No new messages."** He hit the button without a second thought. Talk about what had happened in their relationship? There wasn't anything to say about her throwing their 15 month relationship down the toilet for a quick fuck.

The fall out resorted in a broken table, two chairs and her 'new special friend' being sent to the hospital with a broken nose and fractured jaw. He ended their relationship right there and never looked back, ignoring her calls and texts until they finally stopped.

That was a month ago, and thankfully he had his friends there to help ease the pain from it.

Sighing again, he stuffed the phone in his pocket and got out of bed a second time. Wearing only the jeans he had fallen asleep in and barefoot, he went out into the hall and down the main staircase of the large, two story house he had grown up in.

The place was pretty grand. Five bedrooms, three bathrooms surrounded by six acres of land with a good sized pool set up in the back next to a stone patio. His parents may not have been materialistic, but the home alone was enough to show that they were very well off. But that was the only thing they were really frivolous about with their money.

Reaching the ground floor, Mason walked down the small corridor that led into the kitchen/dining room. One big enough to house roughly a dozen people, and had done so whenever the Riley's had company over for birthday parties.

Heading to the fridge, he dug out a bottle of water and downed half of it in a couple of gulps. The house was very silent, save for the crickets that were chirping outside. He'd grown used to it in the time he had been back.

When the silence became too much, he'd retire to the living room and power up the Xbox 360 he brought with him and start playing one of the games from his collection. He'd always been a fan of sci-fi shooters since he was little, and became a fan of the Crysis and Halo series'. But his friend Matt had gotten him into Borderlands roughly a week after he and Miranda broke up.

The story was pretty interesting, the characters were awesome in their own way, and the games has a good amount of comedy mixed in with all the action and bloody violence. It had taken him over two months to beat the first and second games, infact he was about two hours into the 'Pre-Sequel' when he got the call about his parents' accident.

Thinking about his parents and their passing for what must have been the hundredth time. Mason felt another tear slide down his face. His fists balling up on the countertop as he fought back the urge to start sobbing again like he had the night he had first been told of their passing.

After taking several minutes to keep his emotions in check, he finished the water and tossed the empty bottle away and headed back up to his room in the hopes of salvaging what sleep he could for the night.

Unaware of what the next day was going to bring him.

**X**

South Yarmouth was a very small town in Rhode Island. Located along the state's coastline facing the Atlantic ocean and slightly long drive from Providence. But the remoteness of the location was very peaceful and familiar to Mason.

Having grown up here, he knew almost every road and landmark like the back of his hand. And he enjoyed driving through his home state, taking in the sights and breathing in the salty sea are that he had known since childhood.

After catching a couple more hours of sleep. He had gotten a call from his family's lawyer, Jack Mercer, and had to drive up to Providence to handle a couple of things that had almost been forgotten during their last meeting.

It wasn't anything serious, just a couple of documents that needed to be signed and several others to be looked over. Being a legal adult, he was entitled to everything his parents left behind according to their will. There had also been a letter left to him written by both of them that he had yet to open, it being left on the bedside table in his room since he wasn't ready to read it yet.

When everything was in order, Mason talking with Jack about what had been happening while he had been at home. The teen got back into his car and began heading back for home. Taking the scenic route so that he could relax and try and enjoy the ride.

The 2007 Mustang GT he had gotten as a gift for college rumbling softly as he went down the long roads along the coastline. The view of the ocean with the sun slowly starting to dip down toward the waves being a beautiful sight to behold as he made his way back to the house.

A few dark clouds were gathering in the distance, but that didn't take away the sight that was right before him.

Dressed in one of his casual outfits. Faded blue jeans along with his dark-brown carhartt boots, a black t-shirt and a denim jacket. Mason kept his eyes on the road as he went around a curve. The only thing keeping him from the embankment that led down to the lapping waves below being a metal guardrail.

As he drove, he began to think about what he was going to do next. He'd finish school, that definitely being on top of his priority list. But after that he hadn't a clue. A part of him always wanted to open his own auto body shop, hence why he as going to school for auto mechanics. He loved working on cars, his father had as well which was what got him started on it in the first place.

He remembered tinkering with several old vehicles that his old man had gotten his hands on, enjoying every second of it. And as he got older it became something that he wanted to do as a profession. And being the loving, understanding people that they were, his parents supported his choice and stuck by him.

Shaking the thoughts and memories away, Mason turned around another corner...

Only to be met with the bright headlights of an eighteen wheeler drifting over to his side of the road with its horn blaring. "SHIT!" he shouted spinning the wheel and swerving around the larger truck as it flew past.

But in doing this he found himself in the path of a jeep coming his way in the opposing lane. The teen twisted the wheel back to the right in time to miss a head-on collision; however, a loud crunch was heard as the jeep collided with the back end of his car sending him into a spin.

Gritting his teeth, Mason tried to regain control but was jarred when the Mustang went through the guard-rail that seperated the road from the ocean and found himself airborne.

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as the car and its driver began to free fall. Hitting the dark waters hard and causing him to smack his head hard enough against the steering that he saw stars.

The pain in his head was nearly forgotten when the cold salt water got inside and sent a shock into his system.

Trying to stay calm, despite the life/death situation he now found himself in, he made quick work of undoing his seat belt as the inside of the vehicle began to fill up fast. After getting the safety restraint off, he pressed his back to the driver side door and slammed his booted feet against the passenger window several times before it shattered.

By that point, the Mustang slipped beneath the lapping waves of the Atlantic. Mason managed to get what breath of air he could before going under water and working his way out of the sinking vehicle.

It was a rough fit for his large frame through the shattered window. But he managed and found himself in open water kicking as hard as he could for the surface. Being around water most of his life, he knew how to swim pretty well. But it was a challenge since his boots were steel toe and were weighing him down significantly.

With a lot of exertion, the teen breached the surface of the water gulping in air as the waves knocked him around. 'Have to make it to shore!' he screamed in his thoughts as he began to fight against the pull of the ocean toward the slope that lead back up to the road.

Even with his boots and his soaked clothes weighing him down, Mason began to make his way back to land. But the waves were getting choppier by the second, a storm must have been coming because the salt water was churning like crazy.

A good sized wave knocked him off course and forced him to lose focus just as another slammed down on top of him sending him back under.

Barely any air in his lungs, the teen kicked with everything he had to get back to the surface. But the current kept pulling him back down, and with each kick be began losing more and more strength. His chest burned with the urge to breathe in as he kept his mouth clamped firmly shut to keep what oxygen he had left inside.

By sheer luck he breached the surface again and sucked in air...only for another good sized wave to crash on to him, forcing water down his throat in mid-breath causing crippling pain to shoot through his form.

Mason coughed unconsciously, but since he was already under water he ended up sucking in more making the pain beyond excruciating. His vision started to blur and darken as what strength he had left began leaving him like a large hole in a fuel-line. Eventually his struggles began to fade as well as his body began to sink into the dark depths.

'This...can't be how it ends...' he thought trying to will his body to react, but it was as if it was out of his control. His form was nothing more than dead weight.

Darkness surrounded his vision and began closing in. Thoughts of his friends, and the life he had flashed before his eyes as he began to lose consciousness. An image of his parents appeared in his minds eye as he slipped farther and farther away.

Before his fell into the embrace of oblivion, the teen saw something glowing in the water around him before everything went dark.

**X**

**I was dying. Despite how hard I tried I couldn't fight against mother nature, no matter how strong I was.**

**As I fell unconscious all I thought about was what I was leaving behind. That I still had so much more to do with my life and that I wasn't ready to go yet. Even though I was still grieving over my loss, I knew that they would have wanted me to live on and become something they could be proud of...**

**...and in the end I thought I would end up joining them all too soon.**

**But it seemed, fate had other plans for me. And this little accident of mine was just the beginning of something far greater...and far more dangerous.**

**X**

_He had expected weightlessness, floating through an endless void as some higher power decided where he would go to spend eternity. _

_However, he wasn't expecting to be laying on a solid surface with darkness all around him too dense to see anything. Unable to move as if something was restraining him._

_**"THEY ARE RAGE, BRUTAL, WITHOUT MERCY."**_

_A voice suddenly boomed all around him, sounding just as dark as the dark abyss. Then he felt a pulse, like a powerful heartbeat that impacted his chest._

_The darkness of his vision was broken when glowing-red markings appeared. Forming into a symbol that was unlike anything he had seen before._

_**"BUT YOU. YOU WILL BE WORSE. RIP AND TEAR, UNTIL IT IS DONE."**_

_The deep voice ended with another strong pulse. A bright, red light pierced the darkness, blinding him as he was pulled harshly into it._

**X**

Mason gasped deeply as he jolted awake, taking in huge gulps of air as his vision was blocked by the red light. His heart beating like a jackhammer in his chest while his mind went into panic mode as he tried desperately to get his bearings.

He couldn't move, he felt heavy, restrained and save for the red light infront of him everything else was still a little dark. When everything started settling, his vision slowly swimming back into focus, while getting his heart rate and breathing somewhat under control, he finally took notice of his surroundings...

Mason found himself staring up at a ceiling where a strange stone slab hung above him, in the center of the slab was the same strange symbol that he had seen before. Shaped like a 'T' and glowing a sinister red with four smaller markings surrounding it at each corner with a couple slash markings running along the bottom.

Looking around, he saw that he was in what looked to be some kind of lab. His form laying naked on a table in the very center inside another stone slab that looked to have been connected to the one above him. Various pieces of machinery sparked and sputtered around him, the room itself shaking at various points sending dust and sparks raining down from the ceiling.

"W...What...where...?" he tried to speak, only to go into a small coughing fit. His voice was cracked, haggard, almost as if it hadn't been used in a really long time

Trying to move, he found his arms chained down to the slab he woke up on. The metal looked old, covered in markings similar to the first he'd seen.

Pulling on the shackles a few times in an attempt to loosen them, Mason heard something moving in the shadows on the right side of the lab.

Craning his neck, he saw the darkness move as whatever had been there shambled into the faded light. An instinct he couldn't explain kicked in and he started yanking on the shackles even harder, whatever it was he had a strong feeling that it wasn't anything good.

With one more powerful yank, the restraint on his right arm broke free just as a lanky, rotten form lunged for him. Out of reflex, he lashed his hand out and backhanded the creature then grabbed it by the head, thumb digging into one of its eye sockets while it snapped its jaws at his arm that was just out of reach.

Without thinking, he slammed the head of the creature against the slab he was laying on, shattering its skull like an egg and sending blood, bone and grey matter spraying in all directions.

Mason didn't have time to fully register what he had done as more shadows started moving, more creature's like the first one shambling out of the darkness around the lab and heading straight for him.

Flexing his other arm, he tore free from the other shackle and vaulted over the side of the slab. Landing on the floor in a crouch and looked up to see a futuristic pistol laying beside him. Hearing the creatures getting closer, he picked up the weapon and fired into the closest one.

The pistol chirped loudly, blue colored rounds leaving the barrel and punching bloody holes into the abomination. Blood and chunks of flesh spraying the walls before it collapsed to the floor unmoving.

One of the creatures came up behind him and made to grab him, but he could 'feel' it closing in and spun on the balls of his feet. Slamming the weapon into the side of its head and staggering it before putting two shots into its chest.

Two more came from the other side of the room, both being quickly dispatched with a few well placed rounds. Clearing the room of hostility.

When everything settled down, Mason looked at the weapon in his hand. Clicking a button on the side causing the slide to lock back and reveal a glowing-blue energy cell inside, hitting another switch caused the barrel to spread out at the sides.

Clicking the pistol closed again, he looked around the bloody and debris riddled lab, he tried to piece together where he was and how he had gotten there.

He remembered the accident, finding himself in the ocean and slowly drowning as he sank to the bottom...then darkness...then..._this_.

_"Is this some kind of sick version of Hell?"_ Mason couldn't help but think to himself, _"Waking up in a strange lab, strapped inside a stone tomb of some kind, killing what looked like mutated zombies with an energy pistol...all while naked...That's pretty fucked up."_ wiping blood off his chest, he blinked in surprise when he found his body covered with hardened muscle with an untold number of scars marking his flesh.

_"I definitely don't remember being this ripped either." _He always stayed fit, but this was something else entirely. Finding a badly damaged mirror beside a leaking sink in the corner, he approached it and looked his reflection...his mouth dropping when he saw it.

His face and hair was still the same as it had been before the accident, but his eyes...

What had once been blue was now a dark, _glowing_ red. Giving off an almost demonic like appearance to his normal features.

_"What fucking happened to me?" _Mason thought in stunned silence, reaching up and touching the side of his face as he stared at his reflection in the broken mirror.

He turned and looked at the corpses of the zombie-like creatures he had put down, tightening his grip on the weapon.

_"Need to find a way out of here...worry about how I got to this place later. And find some goddamn clothes too while I'm at it." _His eyes locking onto a doorway that to be the exit, bare feet slapping through the pools of blood spreading across the floor as he approached a still active terminal that hadn't been damaged by whatever was happening around here.

Seeing a 'play back' button on the holo-screen, he reached out and pressed it causing the air around him to distort and several holograms to appear. One of them, shaped like a woman, stepped into the room and toward the center where the tomb he had woken up in, sealed and surrounded by lit candles, where four other people were on the floor kneeling beside it like they were praying.

The woman walked around observing the tomb before speaking. _**"We have to contain this..."**_the images faded away leaving everything the way it was before the holograms appeared.

Beside him, the door slid apart allowing him to leave the lab. Entering another where a large hunk of stone sat against the back wall surrounded by machinery. Inside the stone, set up in a similar fashion Mason had been before, was a suit of what looked like power armor.

It looked a little like Spartan armor from Halo, but it looked far more durable and had obviously seen combat in the past with the various scratches on the plating.

Mason felt a pull in his chest that led him toward the suit. Like a part of him was reaching out and calling for it. Stepping toward the armor until he stood before it, his face reflected in the visor of the helmet and looking back at him.

Reaching out, his hand touching the chest plate of the suit before an explosion of images flooded his mind;

_**A fiery pit. Forged from stone, flesh and bone. Structures covered in glowing pentagrams and other unknown symbols.**_

_**Fierce battles against monstrous hordes of creatures from the depths of one's nightmares. Their hate and rage filling the air like a fog, but so was their terror of the one ending them.**_

_**Statues of demons bellowing into the void surrounding an altar with a sphere of red energy in the very center of their open chests. Tendrils of energy leading to a bigger sphere in the sky that glowed like a miniature sun. The power from it overwhelming.**_

_**A strange artifact. Made of bones and flesh with a skull sitting on the top lost amongst the inferno. Something important. **_

_**Something that needed to be found.**_

The images came to a sudden stop, Mason collapsed to the ground, blood rushing in his hears and his head feeling two sizes too big. Vaguely aware that he was now wearing the armor with the helmet laying on the floor beside him.

His brain felt scrambled, fractured. He couldn't explain it, but the images awoke memories that were not his own.

There was no possible reason behind any of it, and there were far too many questions than answers. But somehow, someway, he understood what he had seen;

The monsters...the _demons_, filled with hate, malice and rage. They hungered. For flesh, for conquest, for death...they were here. Attempting to claim this place for their own, to harvest all living, knowledge and culture and assimilate it into their own twisted realm.

Like a scourge that would never be satisfied.

Mason clutched his head, he couldn't think straight, two sets of memories attempting to overpower the other making him feel like his mind was breaking in two. As if two identities were trying to assume control of one vessel.

He now knew how the armor worked, what it was and where it had come from. There was so much more to this than he could ever possibly imagine. Whatever he was before seemed to pale in comparison to the greater purpose he had now...a purpose that was now his own to carry out.

As if sensing that his resolve was becoming as solid, the pain in his head slipped away allowing him to focus again. Standing up again while picking up the dropped helmet, he wiped a bit of dust from the visor before turning it around in his hands and slipping it over his head, clicking it into place with the rest of the suit.

The HUD came online with data scrolling across in an unknown language before shifting to english as it calibrated, health and armor monitors appearing in the bottom left corner and an ammo reader for his weapon coming up on the bottom right.

Rolling his shoulders, the suit fitting like a glove, felt comfortable and light despite how big and heavy it looked. Mason had been flexing his fingers, making fists when his HUD chimed with an incoming message.

With a thought, the message opened and was displayed before his eyes;

_**-You have questions, and I have the answers that you seek. **_

_**But the situation you find yourself in needs to be resolved first and foremost. You are the only one with the power to stop what is about to take place, countless lives hang in the balance and failure is not an option.**_

_**When you succeed, we will meet and you will have your answers - **_

There was no sender, and the message deleted itself when he finished reading it. Mason glared at his HUD, now aware that there was someone pulling the strings, someone responsible for why he was here.

At the moment he had no other options but to play by this person's games. And hope that by the end of it he'll figure out what was going on.

Turning to the terminal screen beside him. 'Demonic Invasion in Progress' flashed on the screen as Mason swiped across it and bringing up the status report;

**Scan Complete...Report Error.**

**Base Casualties: Unavailable**

**Facility Damage: Unavailable**

**Threat Level: Unavailable**

**Attack Origin: Unavailable**

**Analyzing Error...Satellite Dish Array: Offline. No Signal.**

_"Well, that was helpful." _he thought sarcastically just as a map of the facility appeared and pinpointed the location of the array where all the issues for the system were coming from.

_**"Cannot determine the cause of Demonic Invasion until the Res Ops Satellite is brought back online."**_ said a computerized voice from the nearby speakers.

_"Guess I have to get things running again if I want a complete rundown of what the hell is going on." _Mason summed up as the terminal chimed and an icon appeared on the screen reading 'Incoming Voice Comm'. _"Someone else is alive out there?" _he wondered hitting the icon.

_**"Welcome. I'm Dr. Samuel Hayden, I'm the head of this facility. I think we can work together and resolve this problem in a way that benefits us both."**_the voice that came through sounded robotic, but had a hint of an accent to it. _**"If we are to solve the issue at hand the Res Ops array needs to be back online to get a full review of the situation. A nav-point has been sent to the Praetor Suit's systems, time is short."**_

The communication cut out before Mason could say anything. Shoving the terminal aside, he walked to the other side of the room and down a winding corridor. The facility shook again, debris raining down from the ceiling that did nothing to hinder his progress as he turned a corner and found five more zombie-creatures waiting for him.

The first one lunged, but Mason grabbed it by the throat and choke-slammed it to the floor before stomping on its head. The heavy boot of his armor splattering its cranium like a grape as he raised his pistol and blew the head off the next two that came at him.

Moving forward, he backhanded another zombie, breaking its neck and slamming his other fist into its stomach. The limb tearing through the lanky creature and nearly splitting it in two as he threw the corpse aside.

The last zombie shambled forward, either unaware of the fate of its kind or uncaring Mason couldn't tell. Nore did he care as he grabbed its shoulders, brought it down and smashed his knee into its head with enough force to obliterate its skull.

Pausing for a moment, he observed the carnage he had just unleashed, the blood splattered on his armor. Yet once again he felt no regret, shame or even disgust from what he had done.

Maybe it was his new body, or maybe something changed within him after his 'death', Mason didn't know. But what he _did_ know, was that if he was going to survive what would surely be coming at him, he couldn't hesitate.

Rip and tear until it is done...that's what the weird voice had said before he woke up in his new body. It seemed fitting, and he was more than happy to oblige if and when more of these freaks came out to greet him.

Moving down the last few meters of the corridor, up a small flight of stairs, he was stopped by a door that had been sealed. The corpse of what looked to be a soldier in bloody white armor pinned under it, the body nearly severed in half when the heavy panel came down and he wasn't lucky enough to get out of the way in time.

Eyes trailing along the fallen man's upper-half, Mason found a weapon clutched in his hands. Reaching down, he pried the gun from the soldier's grip, the corpse severing fully and falling to the ground as he looked at it up close.

A shotgun, the weight feeling better in his hands than the pistol did. Mason gave it a good once over to make sure it wasn't damaged in anyway before racking the pump to eject the round in the chamber and loading a fresh one. His HUD blinked as his suit linked with the weapon, the ammo counter changing to the shotgun's specifications.

Looking at his pistol, the sidearm glowed a moment before disappearing in a small burst of light. One of the features Mason had learned about the armor when he put it on, aside from enhanced strength, any weapons he found would be sent to a digital inventory within the suit itself for safe keeping where he could access it at any time he wished.

New gun in hand, he knelt down and grasped the bottom of the sealed door with his free hand. With a small grunt, he stood, lifting the panel with him, metal grinding and sparking as it was raised high enough for him to duck under and enter the room beyond.

When the door slammed down behind him, Mason turned and looked forward just as a form dropped down from the ceiling a few meters ahead. Slightly bulkier than the undead he had encountered, this creature had long, sharp claws and glowing red eyes that locked on him immediately.

A hissing-roar rose from the back of its throat while it put its hands together, energy gathering between its talons before pulling one back and hurling a flaming ball right at him.

Mason ducked, the attack striking the wall and scorching the metal as he raised his shotgun and fired. The spread too wide at this distance, but enough to stagger the creature as he charged toward it. Another round blasting from the barrel and hitting it in the chest, knocking it back a step and spraying blood across the floor.

On the third trigger pull, the creature collapsed to the floor twitching. The body a bloody and mangled mess from the rounds fired into it. Now standing over its prone form, the monster looked up and hissed in defiance. Clawed hand reaching out and grasping at his boot.

"Don't think so," he said, raising his foot and bringing it down on the creature's head and ending it.

_**"Warning! Demonic presence at unsafe levels. Lockdown in effect."**_the facility's voice echoed out as he left the small entry room and into a larger chamber. Emergency lights flashing in every corner, and in the very center, surrounded by a large group of undead and more creatures like the one he had killed, was what looked like an altar made entirely out of flesh with an open maw growing out of the floor with a large sphere of red energy pulsating in the middle of it.

Upon his entry, every demonic entity turned and looked in Mason's direction, snarls and hisses reverberating through the room like static. "Alright," he said over the alarms, lifting his shotgun. "Who's first?"

The creatures surged and he pulled the trigger.

**X**

_**A/N: The first step to a long journey. Or, in this case, a massive leap through the nine circles. **_

_**The next chapter is a timeskip before leading into the actual story itself. If you've played DOOM, know the lore and what is coming, you can expect there to be a lot of bloodshed before things really kick off.**_

_**I already have the next two chapters written out and ready. The next update will be later today, but for now tell me what you think and what you might like to happen in the future and I'll see if I can set said ideas into motion.**_

_**Till next time folks!**_


	2. The Unchained Predator

**It had been a long, perilous journey. Fighting non-stop a seemingly endless tide of demonic abominations. But through it all I managed to endured, all while carving a bloody path of death and destruction through the UAC facility on Mars. **

** Along the way learning more about what this place was, its importance, and most of all, the monsters from the pits of Hell itself that now invaded in massive numbers. Why they were there, and how.**

** It hadn't been easy...scratch that, it was so far from easy that the light of the sun couldn't even touch it. I've faced my mortality again, several times in fact, but managing to pull off the impossible to just scrape by with my life still intact.**

** From what I managed to learn, the Union Aerospace Corporation had been attempting to solve an energy crisis on Earth by syphoning and refining energy from Hell itself. **

** The doctor I'd spoken to in the beginning, Samuel Hayden, was one of the head researchers of the project. Although when we met, I discovered that the 'man' was actually a human brain inside an android body, the doctor having suffered brain cancer and was now what could have been considered a cyborg.**

** Hayden told me about what the UAC had been doing, how he led several operations into Hell and came back with captive demons and artifacts they had discovered, one of which being the sarcophagus that I had awoken in this world within along with the one containing the power armor known as the Praetor suit.**

** However, one of the other scientists, Olivia Pierce, had been converted toward the untold power Hell possessed and made a pact with the demons. And in doing so, opened a portal between the worlds and unleashing the demonic legion upon Mars...which then planned to head to Earth soon after.**

** Despite my confusion, and previous death, I wasn't about to let that happen. Innocent lives were at stake and I had the power to stop it, so I vowed to use my new life to ensure the survival of humanity and ending Hell's invasion. No matter the cost.**

** Through it all, I never gave up, and never stopped as he fought to end the threat facing the world he had awoken in with the aid of the Praetor suit and the large arsenal I managed to collect along the way. Even traveling to Hell itself multiple times and fighting the demons on their home turf, one of such trips resulting in me coming back with an ancient and powerful artifact known only as the 'Crucible'.**

** As it turned out, the artifact was actually a powerful energy sword, capable of sealing Hell's portal and the key to stopping the invasion. With it in my possession, I ventured into the bowels of Hell one last time, intending on sealing the portal and crushing anything in my path to do so.**

** Completely unaware that this final battle would only be another stepping stone to my true destiny. **

X

Mason bellowed a warcry, his Heavy Assault Rifle chattering loudly as it sent a barrage of rounds into the incoming group of Imps. The slugs tearing through them and reducing the creatures to shreds just as a Hell Knight came barreling through the remains.

Keeping the trigger firmly pulled, he flipped a switch on the side of the powerful machine gun causing a compartment on the left of the barrel to pop up, revealing eight mini-missiles that all primed in seconds just before they were launched toward the large demon.

Small explosions covering its form, doing serious damage and staggering it allowing Mason to charge forward. Slamming his knee into its chin before grabbing its head and violently snapping it.

On reflex, he leapt into the air, the thrusters in his boots giving him extra height as he avoided a Pinky as it charged through where he had been standing. The bull-like demon skidding to a stop and snarling loudly at its pray as he stored his HAR and brought out his double-barrel. Coming down hard with both boots slamming on top of the Pinky, pinning it down as he jammed the powerful shotgun in its mouth.

Both barrels fired, the resulting spread opening up the back of the demon's head like a watermelon and spraying blood and brain tissue across the rocky ground beneath it.

Snapping the weapon open, Mason slammed two fresh shells home and closed it back up just in time to duck and roll out of the way from several large green bolts that blew the corpse apart and burned the stone around it.

Mason glared through his suit's visor, the Mancubus that had fired on him having the high ground utop a small plateau on the other side of the of the battlefield, the cannons on its arms sending a long stream of blasts that pinned him down behind a boulder while a dozen other demons converged on his location.

Storing away the double-barrel, he bought out his plasma rifle in exchange. Taking a deep breath before flipping around his cover and sprinting into the fray.

Fireballs were thrown that he ducked and dodged around as he fired a stream of blue bolts from the energy gun. Several of the creatures falling in the assault while others managed to avoid the brunt of the assault and met him head on.

Smashing the stock of his weapon into an Imp's head, he quickly activated a switch beside the trigger which sent out a pulse of plasma energy that sent the rest of the demons staggering away, giving him time to switch to his combat shotgun and start blasting. Making an opening that he took advantage of as he went after his real target.

The Mancubus roared, arm cannons firing again and again trying to kill the armored human that closed the distance quickly. Mason leapt up over the barrage and kicked on his suits thrusters, giving him more height as he switched weapons again. The strong weight of his rocket launcher making him grin as he took aim and fired as he came back down.

The explosive round struck the heavy creature and making it stagger back, it raised its cannons to fire in return only to have more missiles to hit in its center of mass halting it before it had a chance.

Mason landed on the plateau, raising the rocket launcher and holding the trigger down. The weapon beeped loudly three times before he released it, three missiles leaving the tube and detonating against the Mancubus' head. The assault proving to be too much as its skull and shoulders were blown apart in a fountain of gore, the rest of its body toppling over and falling off the platform it had been standing on.

With the biggest threat taken care of, he turned to the edge of the plateau and glared down at the remaining demons who were now closing in on him. An Imp leaping up over the edge of the stone platform only to have an armored boot kick it off. The rocket launcher registered again and again, missiles raining down on the horde below causing blood and body parts to spread everywhere.

Jumping down from his high point, double-barrel back in hand, Mason crushed the head of another Imp as he raised his weapon and fired at a Revenant that had been hovering over head. The skeletal-demon shrieking in challenge and firing it's shoulder-mounted launchers in response that the human managed to avoid.

Bringing out his HAR, Mason fired the pod-missile launcher at the Revenant, forcing it to fly out of the path of the projectiles and into the salvo of heavy slugs that quickly followed. Shrieking in alarm, the creature spun in place and fired its launchers again, but it wasn't fast enough as another salvo of mini-missiles struck it in the chest and sent it crashing to the ground.

Mason didn't give it a chance to recover as he leapt over to it, grabbing its jet pack and plunging his fist into the power core, causing it to overload as he lifted the demon up and threw it at a rampaging Hell Knight, the jet pack exploding with the intensity of a grenade which had been enough to jar the large creature for him to charge at it. Shoulder tackling into it and knocking it over where he unloaded a barrage of slugs into its face from his HAR.

With the Hell Knight dead, he got off its chest and made to head off in another direction when movement on his left grabbed his attention...

But he never got the chance to look when something impacted his midsection hard, sending him hurling to the side until his back impacted a stone wall hard enough to make cracks spread along the surface.

Dropping to the ground, Mason shook off the hit as best he could as he looked up at his attacker. The tall, horned form of a Hell Baron greeted him, glowing acid-green eyes leering with primal hate that was immeasurable. A bellowing roar ripped from its maw before it charged forward, its hoofed feet hitting the ground hard as it picked up speed with each step.

"Shit." Mason cursed as he dove to the side right as the Baron reached him, razor sharp claws cleaving into the wall, leaving deep gashes in solid stone as through it were butter. Despite their size, the Barons were incredibly fast, and their immense strength made them very dangerous opponents.

He'd fought several of them, and he was thankful that there was only one of them this time. They usually fought in pairs.

Raising his HAR, Mason unleashed a barrage of slugs with an occasional volley of mini-rockets at the demon. But the Baron shrugged them off as though they were mere insects, raising one of its clawed hands and conjuring a ball of green argent energy that it threw at the armored human with frightening accuracy.

Flipping behind cover, Mason avoided the blast as it impacted a low wall and blew it apart, dust and debris raining down from the impact site. Storing his rifle, he summoned his double-barrel and waited. Listening to the heavy thuds of the Baron's hooves on stone as they drew steadily closer to where he was...

A clawed hand came swinging around the pillar quick as lightning, but he had been expecting it as he dropped low and allowed the sharp talons to sink into the pillar he had been behind. Raising the powerful shotgun, be blasted both barrels into the Baron's exposed midsection, the buckshot tearing into its hardened flesh and spraying blood on his visor and making the demon roar in pain.

The Baron ripped its hand from the stone it had been lodged in and raised both its arms high, Mason braced his legs and leapt back as the demon slammed its fists down, a shockwave of green energy blasting out around it before it charged after the human.

Reloading the double-barrel, Mason sent it away and took out something he hadn't used in a while. His hands clasping around it when it came into existence from the digital inventory within his suit before pulling the rip-cord on it.

The chainsaw roared to life, the sharp teeth along the blade spinning in a blur of speed as he met the Baron's charge head to head. Ducking beneath a swipe that would have taken his head clean off, he revved the chainsaw and plunged it into the demon's thigh.

Flesh and bone was severed in a fountain of crimson as the tool turned weapon cut the Baron's leg off. The demon falling to its side shrieking as blood gushed from the stump. A sound that was quickly silenced when Mason plunged the blade of the chainsaw into its mouth and revved it again, more blood splattered across his armor as he drove it all the way to the back of the Baron's throat and twisted, the top part of its head coming off in a spray of gore.

When it was over, everything went quiet...well...as quiet as Hell could possibly be anyway. Stepping away from the fallen demon, Mason looked around to be sure that no more were waiting to ambush him before turning his attention to the stone doorway that steadily slid open.

Changing weapons back to his plasma rifle, he made his way toward the entrance. Using his suit's ability to collect stray forms of argent energy that had been dropped by his enemies to replenish his ammo reserves.

It was a strange ability he discovered in his time within the Praetor armor. The suit had strange collectors in the chest plate and the hands which allowed him to absorb the energy dropped from the demons, and convert it into munitions for his weapons or as a way to replenish his vitals if he had taken too much damage

The armor was a far more advanced piece of technology than he had first thought, and whoever had built it apparently intended on the wearer to be able to fight non-stop without the need to rest. Even after all the time he spent wearing it, Mason still didn't fully comprehend its full capabilities, or even how it was able to do half the things it was able to do.

But in the end, he just went along with it. The Praetor suit saved his ass throughout this entire journey and he wasn't going to question how it was done as long as it kept him alive.

Weapon in hand, he trudged up a small incline to a platform that overlooked the area he had just been fighting in. And at the very end of it, was a petrified wraith-like creature laying down on some kind of altar with a glowing sphere the size of a baseball hovering above the open chest cavity, its mouth open in an eternal scream of agony.

The sphere was connected to a stream of energy that went up into the air where another, larger sphere hovered high above that showed the UAC facility on Mars.

The power source for Hell's portal into the human world. He'd already destroyed two other similar energy sources earlier, and this was the last one. Once it was gone, all Mason had to do was seal the well and the invasion will be over.

Mason approached the sphere and took out the Crucible, the Hellion weapon humming with dark power in his hand as he extended a set of prongs from the bottom end. Grabbing onto the statue for support, he looked up at the larger sphere in the sky with a hard glare before plunging the Crucible into the power source before him.

Giving a sharp twist, the sphere pulsated and started discharging energy. The artifact absorbing the power easily before it blew apart, sending Mason staggering back, but managing to keep his footing as he watched the power for the well die completely.

Nodding to himself, he closed the Crucible back up and stored it away on his belt when he heard the sound of a woman crying. Looking around, he saw that the source coming from an open archway on the other side of the site he was in...one that would lead him farther down and into where the portal was located.

Approaching the archway with combat shotgun in hand, Mason paused when six ghostly images suddenly appeared. Three on either side of the opening, all of them wearing medieval, albeit still advanced, armor. The same apparitions that had been showing themselves since he had first taken the Crucible.

The unknown warriors all stood straight, then slammed their right fists over their chest plates. Mason felt something in the depth of his soul compelling him to do the same, switching his shotgun to his other hand, he slammed his fist to the Praetor suit's chestplate as well. The spirits all nodded to him before fading away into the air.

"Time to end this." he growled under his breath as he jumped down the dark pit. His boots slamming onto the stone floor in an ankle-deep pool of blood, bending his knees and using his hand to steady the impact as he slowly rose up.

Finding Doctor Olivia Pierce standing in the very center of a glowing pentagram in the center of the chamber.

Her body was white as a sheet and very frail, covered in blood and deep cuts that bled excessively, her eyes nothing more than hollow windows to a soul that had been broken and corrupted beyond repair.

She looked at Mason, shivering as she raised a bony hand in his direction, "Th-They promised me...so much..." she whimpered out weakly.

"That was your mistake." Mason snapped back, the woman had brought Hell to the human world, causing the deaths of countless innocent people because she became hungry for the demons' power. If she was expecting sympathy from him, she was more demented than he first thought.

"It's over, Pierce." he said, raising his shotgun intending on ending her wretched excuse of a life.

The woman shuttered in her place, looking up just as volts of red lightning rained down from above, her screams reverberating off the stone walls around them as she was struck, her body melting into the ground beneath her and disappearing into the ground.

The blood covering the floor over pentagram bubbled and splashed like water, the whole chamber shacking with a powerful tremor as more lightning arced along the walls. The surface suddenly exploded, a long, white mechanical arm shooting out into the open and slamming into the ground, three more soon followed allowing the rest of the horrifying form to rise up out of the summoning pit.

It was big, mostly machine-like and in the shape of a spider. The very center was a massive brain that sat utop the base connected to its four tree sized legs with a set of tiny arms sticking out of the sides. A pair of beady, glowing-red eyes leering at the armored human while it rose to its full height that forced him to look way up at it.

"...fuck me..." Mason muttered as the beast let loose a powerful screech that shook the very walls of the chamber. He was moving before the sound ended, firing his shotgun into the huge demon and doing his best to keep out of range from any attacks it might have.

The beast crouched low, a large gun mounted on the bottom of its frame roared to live and sent a barrage of red energy bolts after him, the human just barely able to avoid the brunt of the assault, but a few stray rounds managed to bounce off his armor.

Despite its size, the creature charged forward very quickly. Lashing out one of its large limbs in an attempt to swat Mason who jumped high enough to go over it, pulling the trigger again and again, peppering the large demon all along the top of its brain-like head and landing several meters away.

Screeching, the beast suddenly flipped over, head now facing the ground as it crawled after him. It's weapon roaring to life and following him as well. A handful of pillars made of flesh and stone popped up from the bottom of the summoning pit, providing stable cover that kept him out of the line of fire briefly and giving him time to think of a strategy.

His opponent was huge, fast and had an array of weaponry, he needed to keep hitting it hard and fast if he wanted to take it down before it took him down.

Leaning out of cover, Mason was greeted with the sight of his enemy flipping back upright before it crouched low. Thin beams of energy sprouting from all around it before it slowly started to spin in place, the beams cutting through anything in their path and forcing him to drop low as it carved the pillar he had been behind in half.

Getting back to his feet, Mason switched to his rocket launcher and blasted rocket after rocket into the creature's face. Rolling under another limb swinging out at him and pumping more into its exposed side as he ran past it.

The beast screeched again, this time standing in place, but rising higher off the ground and sending electrical volts into the ground. Mason felt the current zapping his form, another series of platforms sprouted from the ground giving him the chance to jump up and pull himself on top of one to avoid anymore damage.

Changing weapons, now hefting his chaingun, he unleashed a salvo of slugs into the vulnerable creature. Fountains of blood and tissue spraying along the left side of its head as they tore into it until it stopped its recent attack. He kept up the assault until the beast used its beams again to cut down his elevated position and sending him on the run again.

The battle stretched on for what seemed like forever, the only real strategy Mason could use was to hit the creature with everything he had while at the same time retreating to avoid the things deadly arsenal. Using hit and run tactics to at least gain a small advantage.

He was also cursing the UAC for what felt like the millionth time for giving the demons high-tech weaponry in the first place.

Switching weapons constantly, using the ones that provided the best damage output while at the same time collecting any forms of argent energy the creature dropped, he had actually started to hurt it to the point when it started dragging one of its four legs around. Its movement now impeded and giving him a better chance.

The prototype BFG-9000 had been the biggest impact, but Mason only had three rounds for it. Now currently only one left having used the previous two already and deciding to save the last one when he needed it most.

His plasma rifle beeped loudly, letting him know that that ammo was spent as he switched to his HAR. Keeping the pressure on and not giving the monster a chance to recover in any way. The beast dropping down and sending out a volley of fleshy mines from its head that scattered all over.

Jumping into the air to avoid the ordinance, using his boot thrusters to get more height, Mason summoned his shotgun and fired explosive rounds at his enemy. Coming down on top of its head, gaining what footing he could on the slimy, pulsing surface, he pumped round after round into one section. Each shot blowing a small hole in the pinkish tissue and making a hole that got bigger with each spread.

The beast screeched in pain and anger, thrashing around to dislodge the human that was currently riding on it. The movement causing Mason to lose his footing and forcing him to grab the edge of the bloody hole he punched through its head. Sending his shotgun to storage, he pulled a grenade from one of his suits compartments and primed it, arcing his arm over and plunging it into the opening he had made before he pressed his feet to the monster's head and leaping off.

A moment passed before an explosion ripped a gaping hole in the side of the creature's head. The shriek of agony that bellowed from its maw would have chilled anyone to the bone as it collapsed on its side writhing in pain.

But it was far from done. Laserbeams shot out of its side as it clawed the ground to turn itself, its movements very sluggish giving Mason more than enough time to avoid them as he brought his rocket launcher back out. Charging his shots and pumping missiles three at a time into the beast, damaging its already crippled form as it still tried to kill him.

A handful of rockets later, and the creature finally collapsed, still alive but unable to attack anymore. Blood gushing by the buckets from the untold number of wounds inflicted upon it, one of its eyes destroyed and hanging by a strand of flesh from its socket as it twitched.

Mason lowered his rocket launcher, breathing heavily after the largest fight he had been in since waking up in this new world, sweat pouring down his brow from beneath his helmet as he approached the disabled demon.

When he got close enough, one of the creature's tiny arms reached out to grab him. But he instead grabbed _it_ by the wrist, and with a savage twist, broke the limb and ripped it from the main body. It's shriek of agony gone unheard as the armored human slammed his foot down on its lower jaw, forcing it wide open as he brought out his BFG and jammed it into the monster's mouth.

The beast's remaining eye widened, as if knowing what was about to take place as Mason pulled the trigger. The powerful weapon whirling loudly and glowing bright green along its frame as it charged to full power.

"GAME OVER BITCH!" Mason roared as the BFG fired, nearly blowing the demon's head in half in an explosion of raw power the weapon was known for. The body of the creature recoiled from the blast before crashing back down, the remaining sections of its head shifting and pulsing for several moments before going completely still, the smell of charred flesh filling the air that didn't reach him thanks to the suit's filters.

Looking at the dead being, he took a deep breath. The invasion was stopped and the demons were sealed back in their abyss. . Finally it was over, all of the fighting and death had been worth it in the end.

Arcs of electricity suddenly blasted all around him, looking around in alarm, he saw his HUD come alive. **'Tether Activation' **blinked across his vision telling him that he was being pulled back to the human world.

There was a flash of light, and in the next moment he was standing on a portal stone in the middle of a lab surrounded by equipment. The tether system released its hold, dropping Mason on his feet where his eyes trained on the walkway ahead of him where the robotic form of Samuel Hayden approached.

"You've won...it's over." he said, drawing closer. "You stopped the invasion and closed the portal. But it's come at a price. Argent, VEGA, this entire operation."

"It wouldn't have come to that had you people not tampered with things beyond your control." said Mason strongly. "Did you honestly think you could control Hell itself? There just isn't enough words to described how royally the UAC fucked up here. And that includes _you_, _Hayden_." he finished, pointing an accusing finger at the cyborg.

Hayden now stood facing him, the tall metal frame looming over the armored young man. "Perhaps, but you fail to see what I do." said the doctor. "You see, I've watched you work, come to understand your motivation. You think the only way is to kill them all, leave nothing behind, and you may be right. But we can't just shut it all down. Without Argent Energy it will be worse."

The man/machine's words shocked him, "Are you fucking serious?! Look around you! Has any of this bullshit been worth it?! All the death, destruction and chaos, and you still want to keep up with it?!"

"I don't expect you to understand, or agree." said the doctor. He snapped out his hand, the Crucible was suddenly yanked from Mason's belt and into his awaiting palm. "But with _this_, we can continue our work."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mason roared as he lunged for the cyborg. Inches away from grabbing the doctor by the neck when a pair of argent pilons came online and fired energy tethers that ensnared his arms and kept him in place.

Hayden shook his head, "I am not the villain here, Doomslayer. I do what I do because there is no other choice."

_**"Re-routing tether coordinates...Complete."**_the facility's voice suddenly chimed.

"Our time is up." said the doctor as he looked at Mason's restrained form. "I can't kill you...but I won't have you standing in our way." he snapped his arm that was holding the Crucible, the artifact's top end opening up and projecting a red energy blade covered in hellion script with a pickaxe-like tip. "Until we see each other again..."

The teleportation unit started firing, energy arcing along his form again. But Mason paid it no mind. He couldn't let this happen, couldn't let Hayden get away with this. The invasion would happen all over again if he didn't do something!

As the argent energy surge got stronger, Hayden turned and prepared to head back where he had come from...that's when Mason struck.

Using every bit of strength gifted by the suit, his own body and the rage coursing through his veins, he kicked on his thrusters and surged forward. The doctor had a moment to register the movement when the armored human grabbed the arm that was holding the artifact. The metal crunching under his grasp as he was pulled back toward the activating portal.

The arm going along with him as it gave way and was ripped from Hayden's body.

"NO!" the doctor shouted and attempted to grab his severed limb, missing it by inches as Mason was pulled into the portal and disappeared in a flash of light.

X

The sensation of static covering his body faded almost as quickly as it had started. His boots hit solid ground when the energy finally faded, eyes adjusting to the low light he was now in, Mason discovered that he had been teleported in a small cave. Just big enough for him to stand at his full height with no form of vegetation that could be seen. Which gave him no real indication of where he had ended up.

Taking a few moments to gather his wits, Mason looked down at the severed robot arm still clutched tightly in his hand. The Crucible deactivated and in its dormant state once again as he used his other hand to pry the metal fingers from around it, throwing the limb away as he put the artifact back on his belt where he had it before.

Checking his digital inventory, he found all his weapons where they should be, the ones powered by argent already in the process of recharging and the stray amounts of energy he picked up killing the spider-demon had already converted into munitions thanks to his suit's abilities.

When everything checked out, Mason took out his HAR and looked to the mouth of the cave was a few meters away "I'm not gonna figure anything out just standing here. Better try and find some kind of civilization."

Weapon held tightly in hand, eyes naturally scanning for threats, Mason headed to the opening. Stepping outside...and finding that his location was a very different contrast compared to the the damaged UAC facility and the bowels of Hell.

All around him was various rocky outcroppings in the middle of a vast desert that seemed to stretch out in every direction.

It wasn't what he was expecting. When Hayden had reset the coordinates for the teleporter, he half expected to be back in Hell. Far enough away so that he couldn't ruin whatever research the cybernetic doctor had in mind.

"Yeah...this is definitely not Mars, or Hell for that matter." he said to himself as he walked out into the blazing sunlight. The visor of his helmet polarizing to protect his eyes while his armored boots sank into the sand beneath him.

Looking up at the sky above, Mason blinked when he saw a large planet that could have been a moon with countless fissure cracks along the surface that glowed a dull amber. That alone would have been surprising, but not nearly as much as the giant structure stationed infront of it shaped like the letter 'H'.

Somewhere in the depth of his mind, he had a sense of familiarity came over him at seeing it. Something from his old life before he woke up on Mars.

"Where did that fucker send me?"

Back inside the cave, in the same place the Doomslayer had landed, a symbol could be seen etched into the stone. A crudely drawn circle with an arch in the center that glowed an ethereal blue.

**X**

_**A/N: Update as promised. The real question is, where and when did Mason arrive?**_

_**Next chapter is almost finished and will be available within the next couple of days. Tell me what you think and I'll continue with gusto! **_


	3. A Familiar World

Mason had been walking for well over an hour, and so far hadn't encountered any form of life. The desert seemed to stretch on forever with the occasional boulder here and there.

Though considering where he had been before this it might as well have been paradise. At least there weren't demons or walking corpses jumping out every few seconds.

The real question that still bothered him was where he was. He was still scratching his head about that one. The fact that he was in an entirely different place wasn't a surprise, given his 'rebirth' and the multiple trips to Hell while fighting on Mars, but he would have been happy knowing what to expect each time it happened.

All that, and the familiarity that kept escaping the edges of his mind was making him frustrated.

He'd been checking his suit's systems periodically since he appeared in the cave. According to the readouts that displayed across his HUD, the air was breathable, but the gravity was a little lighter which had allowed him to jump almost twice as high as he normally would, without the suit's boosters.

Stepping over another pile of rocks, combat shotgun scanning the surrounding area, Mason kept his eyes and ears sharp for any kind of movement. The constant fighting he'd been through and the prowess gifted by his new form had forced all of his instincts to maximum.

Every crumbling rock, breeze, or shifting dune made him snap his weapon up expecting trouble.

The demons had been sneaky, cunning. Their bloodthirsty appearance and attacks masking an intelligence that helped them bring the UAC instillation to its knees in a matter of hours. And given that they somehow harnessed the knowledge from the many scientists, engineers, and marines stationed out there, along with their seemingly endless numbers, it was easy to tell they could have eradicated Earth just as quickly.

Shaking his head, Mason brought his mind into focus as he raised his weapon to his shoulder and moved forward. Roughly to the North if his HUD's compass was still accurate.

His shotgun kept scanning the vicinity multiple times, Mason slowly began making his way forward again. He didn't like wide open spaces. Despite there being nothing around him, there were too many possibilities for an ambush, but so far everything looked clear.

He'd changed a lot since waking up on Mars, and not just from getting a new body. The war he waged against Hell had changed him on a very deep level. He no longer hesitated when it came to killing something that threatened his life, and doing so with brutal savagery he never knew he possessed. It was all like second nature and instinct to him now, but he had no regrets.

Not a single innocent life was harmed by his hands, and never would be.

Coming to a stop by a large rock beside a small crop of the strange, cactus-like plants, he sat down on a large flat rock deciding to take a break and think for a moment or two.

Setting his shotgun down next to him, Mason looked down at his hands, still stained with the dried blood of the enemies he had literally torn apart, closing and opened them a few times in thought.

The Praetor Suit was still beyond his full comprehension. He'd discovered several data-logs throughout the UAC facility, and a few within Hell as well, with information about it. How it was rumored to have been made by a demon that betrayed it's kind, or that it had been made in another time and dimension with the intent of protecting humanity, but there wasn't anything concrete enough to prove either.

It's ability to absorb energy from enemies was bizarre as well, and how the wearer could heal themselves using their bare hands to rip them apart. Something Mason had proven many times over, any injuries he had sustained nearly vanishing when he tore demons to shreds and collecting the energy they gave off as a result.

He remembered reading one of the tablets on Mars about it; _'For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.'_ Mason didn't know what it had meant at the time, but it answered several of the questions he had pondered throughout his journey.

Then there was the enhanced strength, speed and reflexes. Not all of which came from the armor, but magnified the one wearing it's abilities to new heights. His first assumption about the suit was way off. This thing made the armor from Halo look like cheap tin in comparison. All it needed was a shield system and it would be unstoppable...if it wasn't already so.

But Mason also knew that, deep down, it wasn't the suit that made him what he was now, although it was an important tool. He'd also picked up information about who he was supposed to be, a warrior that was said to be the bane of Hell and its legion, a slayer who could walk between the realms and vanquish the Dark Ones who threatened humanity.

After slaughtering demons for an untold amount of time, apparently they had gotten smart and trapped him beneath a mountain before collapsing it ontop of him. Separated from the Praetor armor and sealed away by the demons to stop him from wreaking havoc on Hell and slaughtering their kind.

It may not have been _his life_ before, but it was now. He was still Mason Riley, but he was also the Doomslayer, and after everything he had done he more than believed that he had earned the title well.

Taking a deep breath, Mason leaned back and looked up at the clear sky above. A clear blue compared to the sinister red of both Mars and Hell. He looked toward the still visible moon and the H-shaped station in front of it. Taking in its sleek appearance along with the 'eye' piece in the middle. Again his mind turned over with a sense of deja vu.

Shaking his head, he relaxed his tense shoulders. Intending on making the moment last as long as possible. _"God...it feels like forever since I've just sat down."_ he couldn't help but think.

After several moments of silence, the Doomslayer opened one of the small compartments on his suit's belt and removed a small computer chip. Bringing it up to eye-level while knowing clearly what it contained;

_X Flashback X_

_ Slapping fresh shells into his double barrel, Mason stepped onto the lift that would take him to VEGA's core. The platform beginning its ascent the moment his boots rested upon it._

**"I-I-I-I am los-losing memory capabilities...con-control of neural functions are...minimal."** _the AI reported, its once strong voice distorted and stuttering with the loss of most of its operation points. _

"Once VEGA's core is destroyed, the vaccum of energy will pull you back through to Hell." _Hayden's voice said over the comms, _"We have the destination set to the Well's location. When you get there, use the Crucible to power it down and the portal to Mars will be closed...permanently. They will not allow access to the Well without a fight, but I'm sure that's what you're looking for isn't it?"

_ "I wasn't exactly planning on asking them to nicely stand aside." Mason said as he adjusted his grip on the powerful shotgun in his hands. The lift came to a stop at the highest level and he made his way down the long walkway ahead of him, past a series of cooling fans that regulated the AI core's temperature and though a heavy set of blast doors._

_ Before him was a massive metal construct that resembled the human brain, wires and tubes leading out of it and into various machinery around the large chamber providing it power. _

_ A small quake shook the room as Mason made his way across the walkway that led straight to the core, red arcs of lightning dancing along the surface of the construct when he reached a terminal set up on the platform before it. _

_**"**_**You will need to destroy my neural processors in order to initiate the meltdown sequence. They are located on either side of my main terminal." **_VEGA said helpfully, even though it was helping him in essentially committing suicide. _

_ The Doom Slayer hated this, VEGA had been one of the only things in this fucked up place that offered any help without there being strings attached. And now here he was destroying the AI in order to get him to Hell and save humanity._

_ If there had been another way, he would have done it. But time wasn't on their side, and it was the only chance any of them had._

_ Finding the first processor, he grabbed the core powering it and ripped it out before making his way to the other side of the main core and doing the same to the next. A large energy spike emitted from VEGA's core and was growing more and more unstable by the second, the chamber shaking wildly from the output as Mason returned to the main terminal._

_ Looking down at the red flashing screen, his hand hesitated over the 'Initiate Core Destruction' button when he saw another option appear in the top left corner. _

_ "VEGA Backup." he said out loud to himself. Another quake around him snapped him back into focus as he pressed the smaller button. _

**"The process...is complete."** _said the AI just as a small chip came out of a slot beside the screen, Mason taking it and slipping it into his armor. Hayden thanked him for the sacrifice as he swiped the screen and hit the 'Verify ID' switch. _

_ A bright light filled the room as the core went into overload, there was an explosion and everything vanished around him...replaced moments later by the burning ruins of Hell._

_X Flashback End X_

Mason gently closed his hand around the chip. It was all that was left of VEGA, and he wasn't sure how much of the AI actually survived the backup process. But now that he had a moment to think about it, he wondered if it were possible to link VEGA with the Praetor suit somehow.

Feeling around the back of his helmet, the Doomslayer blinked when he felt a small slot an inch below where the back of his head would be. Looking at the chip, he decided to go for broke and slipped VEGA's backup into the spot he found.

The chip went in without difficulty and clicked when fully inserted, John's HUD flared brightly around the outside, **'Reconfiguration in Progress' **flashed across his visor along with a loading bar that filled quickly over the course of a few seconds. When it finished the text changed to **'System Rebooting' **before everything settled back to the way it was before.

_'...Did it work?'_ Mason thought to himself, nothing felt different. "VEGA? You there?" he asked out loud.

Nothing happened for a few beats, then a symbol appeared on the top left corner of his HUD, one with a small blue circle surrounded by three separated pieces of another circle. _**"Hello, Doomslayer. How may I be of assistance?"**_ the AI's voice filtered inside the helmet.

Mason smiled in relief, "It's good to hear your voice, VEGA. You having any difficulties in here?"

_**"The Praetor suit is very different than the systems I was programmed for. However, my processing power is more focused since I am not spread out through multiple channels. It is surprisingly easy for me to adjust to such new surroundings."**_ the AI went silent for a moment before speaking again, _**"At the mention of surroundings...where are we? I can ascertain that we are no longer on Mars or near any known UAC site."**_

"It's a bit of a long story, what's the last thing you remember?" asked the Doomslayer.

_**"You were in my core unit, Dr. Samuel Hayden and I were assisting you in causing a meltdown so that you could be sent to the Well deep within the demonic realm. Processing...complete. You backed up my more vital files...you saved me from permanent deletion."**_

"I did." answered Mason, "You helped me prevent the end of humanity because of the UAC's ignorance, willing to sacrifice yourself to send me to Hell and seal the portal. I couldn't completely destroy you. When I saw the backup option on your terminal I didn't hesitate."

VEGA was silent, processing what it had been told. What it said next actually stunned the traveling warrior;

_** "Thank you."**_

"It's no problem, VEGA. But to answer your question as to where we are, Hayden betrayed me after I sealed the Well, attempting to take the Crucible before sending me through the tether system to another world. But I managed to get the artifact back before I was sent away."

_** "It is difficult to calculate our location without access to Doctor Hayden's files on the tether device...which we have no hope of attaining."**_ the Ai summarized.

Mason shook his head, "Then that means we're on our own from here on out."

_**"Affirmative. And I am more than willing to offer you aid wherever it may be required. I have run several scans on the Praetor suit and have discovered features that have yet to be tapped into that I am now able to make available to you should the need arise."**_

The Doomslayer nodded, the idea of more features being open in his suit sounded very appealing, especially if they could help him later down the road in a tight spot.

And with VEGA now on board, things were looking even better.

There was a clatter of loose stone somewhere to his right that had Mason moving in an instant. Shotgun back in hand as he spun around in a crouched position, aiming back at the pile of stones only a couple of meters away.

His eyes swept back and forth, his stance rigid as his senses stretched to their limits while he gauged his situation.

"VEGA?"

_**"I am detecting several lifeforms in that direction."**_ replied the AI, using the armor's sensors to pinpoint the location snap-quick.

A low pitched growl had him tightening his finger on the trigger. From behind the pile of rocks, five creatures came out into the open. Quadruped with long, hooked claws on their feet with hardened plates covering scale covered hides with one of them having long spikes coming out of their shoulders.

Their heads were round with large red eyes on either side. But their mouths, instead of opening normally, were vertical. Seeming to split the whole front of their heads open to reveal open throats and sharp teeth.

One of them noticed the Doomslayer standing there and growled, the rest of the pack soon followed. Snapping their jaws in an obvious form of intimidation. Mason however was perfectly calm, compared to what he had seen and fought, these things weren't anything.

Seeing their pray standing his ground, the beasts roared before lunging at their target.

Mason fired an explosive round from his shotgun, the shot landing in the sand infront of the charging pack and detonating. Blowing one of them apart and taking the leg off another, dropping it to the ground.

The one in front got close, but Mason grabbed it by the throat, jamming his gun in its stomach, which wasn't protected by the armor growing out of it, and pumping lead straight through it. Nearly blowing it in half before he threw the body away.

The creature with spikes slammed its feet into the sand, roaring loudly before launching a glob of green and yellow bile from its mouth. The Doomslayer quickly sidestepped the projectile as it landed on the rock he had been sitting on. A soft sizzling telling him that it was acidic.

Not taking any chances, he cleared the distance between him and the beast and fired at point blank. Blowing its head apart in a blast of blood and gore.

Spinning around, he brought up his arm in time to block a claw strike that was aimed for his face. The remaining beast literally jumping at him from behind. He rolled the limb he had stopped, locking one of the creature's front legs with his own before plunging his other fist straight through its chest, opening it enough to grab a handful of innards before tearing them out, the beast dying with an agony filled wail.

Dropping the disemboweled corpse. Mason looked at the creatures he had just dispatched and was again hit with a sense of familiarity.

_"This is insane. How the hell does all this look so familiar?!"_ he thought, trying his best to figure it out when VEGA's voice brought him back.

_**"Doomslayer! There are three large, fast moving objects coming our way from the East."**_

Looking to where the AI had mentioned, Mason saw three dust clouds steadily getting closer. The low roar of engines echoing over the dunes.

Grip tightening on his shotgun, the Doomslayer watched as three vehicles came flying over the sand. A pair of dune runners with mounted machine guns behind the drivers seat, the one leading a large technical with what could be described as a barrel launcher mounted on it. All three of them filled with people in tattered clothes and armor brandishing weapons ranging from guns to clubs with nails sticking out of them.

The small convoy approached at full throttle before veering in different directions. Now driving in a circle around Mason as he remained where he was, watching them with sharp eyes as they hooted and hollard. This went on for about a minute before the vehicles came to a slow stop, the ones riding in them dismounted and surrounding the Doomslayer on all sides. One remaining on the stationary guns that were also aimed at him.

One of the armed men holding a three barreled shotgun stepped forward. "Well, what do we got here? A big tin can lost in the desert?" he asked cockily while his group all chuckled.

Mason remained silent, leering at him through his visor.

"Here's how it's going to go, pal." the leader spoke again, "You're gonna hand over everything you got, and we're gonna kill you dead. Sound good?" He was suddenly thrown back when a shotgun blast blew his chest wide open and threw him back against one of the runners.

"I ain't your fucking _pal_." the Doomslayer growled.

The shot that was fired triggered the rest of the group to fire on him. Rounds bounced off the Praetor suit's hardened plates, not even making a scratch. The ones holding melee weaponry charged forward, one of them swinging for Mason's head-

His arm was caught and held in an iron vice-grip before it was literally torn from its socket. The bandit screamed as blood sprayed from the ripped stump just before his severed limb came back around and bashed his head in.

The rest of the bandits froze for a second from the brutal death of one of their own, which was all the time Mason needed to summon his HAR to his hands and sent a barrage of slugs and pod rockets that reduced over half of the armed group to shredded meat splattered across the sand.

Another bandit jumped onto the Doomslayer's back, only for the armored man to reach over his shoulder and throw him to the ground. He had half a second to scream before a massive boot crushed his skull like a melon.

One of the runners revved loudly, a bandit behind the wheel having jumped in from the turret mount on the back and drove a fair distance away before coming back around and heading straight for Mason with the intention of running him down.

Sending his HAR back to storage, Mason braced himself as the vehicle slammed into him. His boots digging into the sand as he slid back a couple of meters before coming to a stop. In the next moment the runner was sent upward, his enhanced strength ripping the front axel clean off. A hard uppercut when the vehicle came back down sent it flying end over end and crashing into a pile of rocks where it exploded.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" a bandit with a pistol screamed hysterically as he ran out of ammo and tried to reload. His last moment was the feel of a metal gauntlet on his head before it was suddenly snapped around facing the opposite direction.

The whole fight lasted less than a minute. But by the end all that remained of the attacking group was blood and body parts. Looking over the carnage he had wrought, Mason spun around when he heard running footsteps...and froze in place.

Coming toward him was a thin man dressed only in a pair of torn orange pants. His bare torso covered in dried blood and tattoos and brandishing a weapon that looked like a buzzsaw at the end of a metal rod. But this wasn't what caused the Doomslayer to pause.

It was what the man had on his face. A type of hockey mask that was all white with orange markings around the mouth piece and eyes, which were a pair of lenses that glowed a soft blue.

In that moment, all of what he had seen up to this point finally clicked into place. And he finally knew EXACTLY where he was.

"Strip the flesh! Salt the wounds!" the deranged man shouted as he sprinted toward Mason. His eyes narrowed as the distance between them closed.

When the bandit was close enough, he had been stopped cold when a large, armored fist drove into his exposed chest. Bones crushed like dry twigs from the impact, vital organs rupturing as blood sprayed out from beneath the mask. His body hit the ground and rolled like a ragdoll and coming to rest several meters away.

Lowering his fist, Mason stomped forward. Looking down at the man as he groaned and moved feebly while choking on his own blood. Showing a rare moment of mercy to his suffering, the Doomslayer raised his foot and crushed his head beneath his heel.

_**"All hostiles have been eliminated."**_ VEGA reported. Mason remained silent, using the moment to come to grips with his new situation. _**"Doomslayer?"**_ asked the AI

"I'm fine, VEGA." Mason replied finally before looking up at the sky once more. Specifically at the space station

The _Hyperion_ space station.

Somehow, someway, Hayden's tether system had catapulted him to the planet Pandora in the Borderland's franchise. All of the deja vu he had been feeling since his arrival finally making sense.

"I just figured out where we are." he said out loud to his digital companion.

_**"Really?" **_VEGA said, sounding very interested.

"Yes. I'll explain later. Right now we need to figure a few things out." Mason made way over to the still intact technical. Tossing the dead bandit from the driver's seat before climbing in himself.

The vehicle sank down from the added weight of the Praetor suit, but held perfectly as the Doomslayer started the engine. Taking a moment to familiarize himself with being behind the wheel for the first time since his 'death', he shifted gears and drove off into the desert in a direction that would hopefully lead to civilization.

Unknown to him, a pair of eyes were watching with great interest.

**X**

_**A/N: And the pieces finally fall together for our badass hero. But the real question is at what point in the Borderlands timeline did he arrive in? This question and many others will be answered next time. Keep reading and reviewing folks!**_


	4. Siren's Call

In the weeks following his arrival on Pandora, Mason wasted little time in making his presence known to the bandits, raiders and psychopaths of the planet.

After explaining what he could on Pandora to VEGA, being sure make it sound like he had visited the place long ago before awakening on Mars, he managed to help the AI hack into the Echonet and collect every scrap of relevant data they would need. And thanks to the Praetor suit's massive data storage, a large codex had been compiled in only a couple of days.

The Doomslayer had also mentioned the Eridians and their Vaults which prompted VEGA to also seek out data on the ancient alien race as well.

From the information compiled, Mason had learned that it had been over a year since the Vault had been opened and Hyperion had set roots on Pandora. Handsome Jack starting his campaign to wipe out everyone while searching for the Vault of the Warrior. Something he wasn't intending on letting happen.

The first couple of days were disorienting, given that a single day on Pandora was 90 hours. But once things finally settled for the Doomslayer he started making plans.

He had already established that the ammunition provided fit his current firearms, aside from his pistol given that the ammo was unlimited. But his energy weapons were another matter entirely. VEGA was in the process of finding a way to convert the limitless energy of the Crucible to replenish the guns, but it was a delicate process since the raw argent energy could damage or destroy the weapons if done incorrectly.

Regardless, his ballistic guns were more than enough to handle the dregs of Pandora for the time being.

It wasn't hard to gather resources such as food and medical supplies. Killing the local bandit groups bore a decent amount, and if it wasn't enough there were plenty of settlements that offered bounties for various jobs that needed to be done. And seeing a large man in power armor with an arsenal of powerful guns was a wanted commodity given the current state of things.

Compared to fighting demons, this was pretty much a vacation for him.

He was currently on one such bounties. A small town was having trouble with a bandit clan passing through the area and had asked for help. Needing the funds and willing to deal with the murdering psychopaths at the same time, Mason took it without question.

"Crush your skull on my tum tum!" A Goliath bellowed, firing a pair of assault rifles at his target before a stray round knocked off the bucket off his head. Bellowing in fury and tossing the weapons aside, the large bandit's skull and spinal column burst out of the hole where its neck was like a snake while his skin turned red and bulked up.

"So ANGRY!" The Goliath charged like a raging bull, swinging a large fist that was caught in and armored one. Even his abominable strength following his transformation, couldn't stand up to Mason's supernatural prowess.

The Doomslayer planted his right foot hard into the Goliath's large stomach before grabbing his extended spine with his free hand. A sharp pull had both column and skull ripping from the raging bandit had him toppling over like a puppet with cut strings, his life ending almost instantly.

Dropping the severed spine, Mason charged across the encampment and clothes lined a Marauder that was struggling to reload. Grabbing his leg on the way down and breaking it like a stick before twisting it around and crushing his head with his own foot.

A psycho jumped down from a rusted out shack, but his deranged screaming caught the Doomslayer's attention as he spun around and caught him by the throat in midair. In the next moment the psycho was brought down hard across Mason's armored knee with a sickening crunch, his body almost bent completely in half from the force.

Summoning his combat shotgun to his hands, Mason fired an explosive round through the open doorway of another shack. The explosion that followed sent blood and body parts flying out the windows when those inside had nowhere to go to escape in time.

Popping the modded barrel off and switching it with another, he charged the weapon fired a three-shot burst into a Brute that came out of cover. His body exploding in a shower of shredded meat and gore that painted the wall behind him and the ground below him.

With that final kill, nothing remained. The dismembered, shredded and crushed remains of over three dozen bandits laid scattered all over the derelict mining outpost. Doing one final sweep, the Doomslayer lowered his shotgun before beginning the task of looting the bodies for anything of value in them.

_**"Another successful bounty, Doomslayer."**_ said VEGA.

"And these bastards won't be raiding the town anymore." Mason replied as he stuffed a wade of cash into one of the pouches on his belt and digitizing a couple of guns that would fetch a good price.

In one of the shacks he found a large chest in the corner. Trying the keypad he found it locked, but that did little to stop the Doomslayer as he slammed his fist into it before grabbing the edge and ripping the lid off.

Inside he found more guns, money and a few baubles that the bandits more than likely valued. Mason grabbed the money and a few of the guns when he found something else buried at the bottom of the chest. A large revolver with a long barrel that was colored dark grey with red and yellow forming a flame pattern at the back above the grip around the hammer. The word **'Explosive'** written in yellow and cursive along the barrel.

A Torgue magnum, and judging from the weight in his hand it was a powerful one.

Finding it fully loaded, Mason stepped out of the shack and too aim at a cluster of barrels on the other side of the encampment. The trigger pulled smoothly, his strength handling the kickback when the weapon bucked in his hand, the round flying straight toward its intended target.

The bullet impacted a barrel, a small explosion blowing a hole through it and sending it flipping backwards from the force.

Lowering the magnum, Mason gave it another once over before grinning beneath his helmet. "I think I just got myself a new sidearm." he said before sending his new gun to the Praetor suit's storage. As much as his energy pistol had saved him back on Mars, extra firepower was always welcome.

Once finished, the Doomslayer left the encampment where his technical was waiting. The same one he had gotten on his first day here, which had since gotten a few upgrades which included heavier armor plating along the frame and a spiked ramming bar on the front bumper.

Climbing into the driverseat, he drove the handful of miles back to the settlement. His arrival drawing the attention of those who lived there. When he first arrived a day ago the place was in the middle of being raided and he wasted little time in wiping out the bandits attacking. After that the people were terrified of him, not surprising since a large being in power armor killed a dozen armed thugs like he was ordering a pizza and was painted in their blood.

After a fair bit of awkwardness and hesitation, Mason had managed to speak with the towns leader where he had been asked if he would help them with their bandit problem. Which the Doomslayer agreed to without hesitation.

Several people gave him waves and nods while others gave him space as he walked by toward where the town leader was set up. Pounding on the wall beside the door, a middle aged man in dirty overalls and a white shirt appeared in the doorway, blinking in surprise when he looked up at the Doomslayer.

"Y-Your back already?" he asked in surprise.

Mason nodded, "The raiders are all dead. You shouldn't be having any trouble from here on out." he immediately saw several people perk up when they heard of the bandit camp being dealt with.

A wide smile stretched across the leader's haggard face. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much you've helped us."

"It's no problem. I'm used to this kind of thing." Mason replied.

The man disappeared into his home and came back out with a rusted lockbox. Opening it to reveal a decent sized wad of money inside. "It's not much, the raiders took a lot from us. But everyone pitched in to offer something." he said while holding out the reward.

Looking at the money for a moment, the Doomslayer reached out...

And closed the lid. Confusing everyone who was watching. "This one's on the house. Use that to get your people back on their feet." he said before turning around and heading back toward his vehicle.

"W-Wait!" he paused and looked back over his shoulder to see the leader, the people of the small town gathered near him. "Who are you? We never got your name."

Mason smirked behind his visor. "Doomslayer." he said deeply before getting back in his vehicle and driving off toward the horizon. Leaving the people of the settlement looking after him in wonder and awe.

**X**

Some time later, the sun had started to dip low in the sky and Pandora's moon, Elpis, was making its rise in its place.

Mason had parked the technical at the mouth of a small cave and was inside in front of a fire he had made with the leg of a skag he had killed minutes prior cooking over the flames.

If he was honest, the meat didn't taste that bad. A bit tough and lean, but it was pretty good and hit the spot on an empty stomach.

Removing his helmet and setting it beside him, Mason ran a hand over his head. A light dusting of stubble on his scalp as he picked up an Echo device he had gotten a while back. His red eyes focused on the screen as he went through the various settings until he settled on a radio channel that played in the background, filling the silence.

He followed the same ritual almost every night. Listening to the radio waves and broadcast signals going on throughout Pandora. VEGA using his influence to boost the signals so things came in more clearly. Picking up still functioning music stations, but also transmissions coming from Hyperion forces.

So far, the Doomslayer had kept as off the radar as possible. Even though he could take out anything Handsome Jack could throw at him, he didn't want to be on the madman's radar unless it couldn't be helped. Though part of him would have loved nothing more than to walk into every single Hyperion outpost across the planet and kill everyone inside.

At the moment, Mason had a several huge advantages. He knew where the Vault of the Warrior was. He knew Handsome Jack's endgame. And he knew who Angel was and where she was being kept.

But the biggest advantage he had, aside from his strength, armor and weaponry, was time. There was still a couple of years before the events of the second game's storyline, and he had the chance to do some serious damage to Hyperion and their operations. But he needed to plan things very carefully.

The Doomslayer pulled his now fully cooked skag leg off the fire and took a bite out of it when the music suddenly stopped and another Hyperion broadcast began playing.

_**"Hey everybody out there on the big suck that is Pandora, Handsome Jack here. Just letting you all know that another day has past and another day of killing all the bloodthirsty savages out there. But more importantly, another day of you all wishing you were me right now."**_

_** "For those that haven't been found yet, don't worry. I'll kill ya all soon enough. And to the Crimson Raiders, good luck with your so called 'Resistance'. Because soon enough, none of that is going to matter when you're all burning in a mass grave in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere."**_

_** "So keep that in mind, and keep tuning in as Hyperion lays waste to your homes and families. Till next time kiddos!" **_

Mason shook his head as he tossed the cleaned skag bone aside. "Asshole must really get off hearing himself talk." he muttered out loud as he took out a canteen and took a drink of water.

Just as he was reaching for another helping, his vision suddenly became overshadowed by a white fog. Tensing in alarm, he saw a face appear. Slightly distorted like static.

**"Hel...lo? Can y...ou he...r me?"** a young woman's voice came through broken up before everything went back into focus. Several seconds passing as Mason tried to understand what had just happened.

_**"Doomslayer!"**_ VEGA spoke through the speakers of his helmet. _**"Something just attempted to access the Praetor suit from an outside source! I managed to repel it, but it seemed like whatever it was was attempting to leave a message."**_

Before Mason could ask about it, a burst of static came from his Echo before the same voice he had heard came through the speakers much more clearly;

** "Can you hear me? Please, answer."**

Picking up the device, the Doomslayer was greeted with the sight of a young woman with long black hair with the right side of her head shaved. Her piercing blue eyes looking back at him.

**"Thank god. I didn't think I would be able to reach you." **said the woman.

"Who are you?" asked Mason, though he already knew the answer.

**"I am Angel. I don't have much time to explain, but I have been watching you for some time now, enough to know that you're the only one that can help save the life of someone important to Pandora's survival."** said Angel with desperation hinted in her tone.

The Doomslayer narrowed his eyes, "You have my attention."

**"No doubt you've seen what Handsome Jack and Hyperion are doing to Pandora. The Crimson Raiders, the resistance made by former Vault hunters, is doing the best it can with what they have." **Angel started explaining,** "But one of their key members are in danger. Hyperion has discovered where she is and plan to overwhelm and capture her. Believe me, death would be preferable to what Jack has in store for her."**

The news was anything but good. If one of the main members of the Crimson Raiders was in danger, then things would only go from bad to worst if something happened to them. "Where is this ambush taking place." he asked, already standing and gathering his equipment.

**"There is a rundown old bar at the edge of the Dust called 'Lucky's Watering Hole'. That is where she is. You must hurry, there isn't much time."** with that said, Angel vanished into the digital ethear.

_**"I have finished reviewing our map data and have marked the location on your HUD."**_ VEGA reported as a nav point appeared on his visor when he snapped his helmet back on. _**"Though I suggest using caution, there is no telling what could be waiting for us upon arrival."**_

Mason jumped into the technical and started it up, "I'll worry about that when we get there." he floored the accelerator and gunned it across the desert in the direction of his new objective.

His earlier plan was now out the window. It's time for Hyperion to see what they were up against.

**X**

Lilith once again found herself cursing her situation.

Ever since the fall of New Haven over a year ago Jack had been gunning for her and the others. More so after her after what had happened on Elpis.

The battle at New Haven almost took them all out, when Jack's attack dog Wilhelm made an appearance things looked grim. It took the red-head Siren using a great deal of her power just to make it so that the they could all escape.

Since then they had been at war with Hyperion, Roland spearheading the resistance comprised of the former Crimson Lance and whatever bandit and raider groups willing to work with them to stop Handsome Jack.

Brick and Mordecai both split off, helping the war effort in their own way while reporting back to Roland at their HQ in Sanctuary. As for Lilith herself, Hyperion believed she was dead after New Haven and used that to her advantage.

But it seemed that whatever luck she had finally ran out as she was hunkered down in the old abandoned bar at the edge of the dust as a seemingly endless torrent of bullets that tore through the building just above her head. A hand pressed to her right side with blood seeping between her fingers, a stray bullet having caught her before her shields could recharge.

Wounded with no ammo, Anshin hypos or Eridium to help recharge her powers, and an untold number of Hyperion Combat Loaders surrounding her on all sides, things were far from good.

"Fuck it." Lilith hissed through clenched teeth. These mechanical bastards may have caught her by surprise, but she wasn't going out without a fight. Picking up her corrosive Maliwan SMG in her left hand, she waited for a pause in the lead storm around her before standing. Using the bar for support as she fired the glowing-green rounds out through the open window. The acid-laced bullets eating away at the yellow armor of the robots outside.

**"Breach Perimeter."** said a Badass-Loader as several EXP-loaders came charging out of their ranks toward the building.

The Siren cursed and dove to the other side of the bar as the kamikaze bots all detonated at once. Blowing a massive hole in the wall and creating an opening for the rest of the loaders to march through.

Laying under a pile of debris, Lilith groaned and tried to sit up as she was surrounded. **"Initiate Capture Procedures." **a loader said as two approached the wounded Siren with electricity sparking from their hands.

The red head raised her tattooed covered arm and flipped them the bird in response. "Fuck you scrap asses-"

Several loud explosions came from outside, causing all of the loaders to look back to the large hole in the wall they came through. More explosions, gunfire and screeching sound of metal tearing followed which continued for over a minute before silence reigned.

Red optics remained on the opening as a combat loader came crawling through using only one arm. Its other arm and its lower half missing with sparking wires dangling.

**"E-E-Enemy C-Com-bata-" **its choppy speech was silenced when a massive metal boot came down hard, crushing the rest of the machine like it was cheap aluminum. The boot being connected to a nearly seven-foot tall man in green power armor reloading a double barrel shotgun in his hands.

He looked at all the loaders through his visor in silent contemplation. Taking into account of the wounded woman on the floor who was looking back in surprise at his arrival.

"So...whose going to the scrap heap first?" he asked while snapping the weapon closed.

**X**

_**A/N: An Angel makes contact with the slayer of demons, and he answers the call of a Siren. **_

_**Short chapter, but with what's coming a small introduction to certain things will lead into badassery on another level. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll have the next update up before you know it.**_


	5. Guardian

_Previously:_

_Laying under a pile of debris, Lilith groaned and tried to sit up as she was surrounded. __**"Initiate Capture Procedures." **__a loader said as two approached the wounded Siren with electricity sparking from their hands._

_ The red head raised her tattooed covered arm and flipped them the bird in response. "Fuck you scrap asses-"_

_ Several loud explosions came from outside, causing all of the loaders to look back to the large hole in the wall they came through. More explosions, gunfire and screeching sound of metal tearing followed which continued for over a minute before silence reigned._

_ Red optics remained on the opening as a combat loader came crawling through using only one arm. Its other arm and its lower half missing with sparking wires dangling._

_**"E-E-Enemy C-Com-bata-" **__its choppy speech was silenced when a lmssive metal boot came down hard, crushing the rest of the machine like it was cheap aluminum. The boot being connected to a nearly seven-foot tall man in green power armor reloading a double barrel shotgun in his hands._

_ He looked at all the loaders through his visor in silent contemplation. Taking into account of the wounded woman on the floor who was looking back in surprise at his arrival. _

_ "So...whose going to the scrap heap first?" he asked while snapping the weapon closed._

**X**

The closets Combat-Loader turned and raised its weapon at Mason. **"Surrender. Or Face Termination."**

Turning to address the machine, the Doomslayer pulled the trigger. Blowing a large hole clean through the center of the loader and throwing the rest of its body back against the wall. The rest of the loaders all turned at once and opened fire in response.

Grinning beneath his helmet, Mason charged into their ranks. Bullets pinging off the Praetor suit's plates while he fired the second shell in the weapon and taking out a loader before shoulder tackling another by slamming it against the wall with enough force to send the machine through it.

Another Combat-Loader swung its arm at the attacking Human and found its limb caught in a steel vice-grip. The Doomslayer yanked it forward, grabbing its other arm in his other hand while planting his foot on its center of mass.

With little effort, he tore both arms from the loader in a shower of sparks. Using the severed limbs to smash it into salvage.

Dropping the arms, Mason spun around and drove his fist through a loader trying to flank him. Grabbing its power core and ripping it from the machine and throwing it at another where it exploded, leaving only one loader still standing.

The Hyperion bot raised its weapon, but Mason grabbed its arm. Bending it like a pipe cleaner with his strength and making it shoot itself in the optic. Pushing the now dead mechanical body over, he turned his attention to the wounded Siren who was looking up at him in shock at how quickly he had decimated the loaders.

"You okay?" he asked, snapping her out of it.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks for th-" Lilith hissed when she tried to move, pressing her hand harder against her wound.

Mason knelt beside her, VEGA performing a quick scan through the Praetor suit's HUD. _**"She has a concussion and is losing blood at an alarming rate. She needs immediate medical attention."**_ reported the AI just as the Siren lost consciousness from her injuries.

The Doomslayer immediately went through his suits storage and brought out a handful of Anshin hypos, wasting little time injecting the Siren with the healing agent. The blood flowing from her injury slowed to a stop, the skin beginning to knit itself back together. After several more injections color began to return to Lilith's face and her body relaxed.

"VEGA?" he asked after tossing away the last Anshin.

_**"Her vitals are weak, but have stabilized. I recommend moving her to a safer location to finish recovering."**_ replied the AI just as a series of loud booms were heard outside, followed by the ground shaking from several impacts. _**"Multiple hostiles detected."**_

Mason picked Lilith up and carefully laid her on an old, torn up couch in the back room safely out of sight. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he brought out his plasma rifle and made for the large opening he had come through. Finding over two dozen Hyperion loaders unfolding themselves from the craters made after their descent from the Helios station.

A Badass-loader at the back of the collective unfolded from the biggest crater, it's mounted guns powering up. **"Target Acquired."**

Said target didn't give any of them a chance as he unleashed a barrage of blue plasma bolts. The energy rounds melting through armor as he charged ahead. The reader attached to the weapon beeped after a few seconds, the meter on the screen in the red, allowing him to hit a switch beside the trigger and launching a stun bomb that detonated amongst a group of EXP-loaders that were running toward him.

The blast of overheated plasma energy fried the circuts of the bots in seconds, causing them all to detonate and taking any loaders within range with them while damaging several others.

Switching to his chaingun, Mason used the turret mod attached to the powerful weapon allowing it to mecha-shift into three barrels instead of one. He then let loose a hailstorm of .50cal slugs that all but shredded through the loaders, their armor unable to withstand such a barrage as they were torn apart in seconds.

With a majority of the Hyperion bots dealt with, the Doomslayer switched to his combat shotgun and began mopping up the rest. Each pull of the trigger signaling another scrapped loader until all that remained was the Badass one which had managed to avoid taking too much damage during his assault. Its mounted guns firing on Mason who ran to the side to avoid the burning rounds that scorched the ground in his wake.

Banking, the Doomslayer ran for the large loader. Jumping into the air when he was within range with his fist cocked back and delivering a powerful strike to the bots 'face' and causing it to stumble back a step. Bringing up his shotgun, he fired an explosive round into one of its exposed arm joints and blowing the limb off the main body.

**"Error. Structural Damage Detected. Attempting Repairs."** the loader reported, trying to right itself now that it was heavier on one side.

"Oh, we ain't done yet." Mason brought out his chainsaw and revved it loudly. Sprinting toward the Badass, he slammed the spinning blades into one of its knee joints. Sparks and shards of metal shot into the air following the loud screech as the deadly tool cut through the bot's leg.

Shuttering, the loader tipped to one side and collapsed to the ground. Unable to get back up now that it was missing an arm and a leg. The Doomslayer sent his chainsaw back to storage before drawing his double barrel again, walking onto the mech's torso and leering down at its optic as it looked back up at him.

Neither of them said a word as both barrels of the powerful shotgun blew its CPU across the ground.

**X**

In his office on Helios station, overlooking Pandora, Handsome Jack sat as his desk going over what he had been sent minutes ago. The CEO of Hyperion kept his eyes on the lines of data and video feeds the stations terminals had received after a squad of loaders he had sent down to the savage planet's surface went silent.

What he saw, wasn't what he wanted to see.

After what had happened when he had wiped New Haven off the face of Pandora, he devoted more than enough of his time and nearly endless resources in tracking down the original Vault Hunters. More than anything...he wanted the Siren bitch that defied him and fucked up his good looks.

When her location was discovered he was ecstatic, he'd finally get his revenge. Sending as many loaders as he could to where she was hiding out with the intention of capturing her so he could do the deed himself.

She fought back, obviously. But her ammo and powers were overwhelmed by the numbers he was sending after her until she was at his mercy...but then IT showed up.

Some asshole in power armor coming seemingly out of nowhere, wiping out his loaders as though they were nothing and saving the damn bitch.

He was furious, irritated...and a little intrigued all at the same time.

Who did this fuck-stick think he was? Interfering with Hyperion? Interfering with HIS revenge?

"Angel, I want you to find anything and everything you can on this asshole." Jack said as he looked at the frozen image of the Doomslayer carrying Lilith out of the ruined bar.

_**"Right away, Jack." **_Angel voiced back in a solemn tone.

The CEO smirked, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the desk. "Think you're a hero, huh? I'll show you what happens to 'heroes' around here, tin man."

**X**

The sun had set hours ago and night had fallen over Pandora. Elpis casting a bright glow over the wasteland despite the space station hovering in front of it.

Within a small settlement that had been long since abandoned, Mason could be seen dragging a couple of dead Rakks he had just finished hunting. Bringing them into the only house that wasn't crumbling where a fire was burning in a small pit in the middle of the main room.

All of the old and broken furniture had been moved outside to provide the needed space, save for a relatively clean mattress where Lilith laid resting beneath a blanket. Close enough to the flames to keep warm from the chill in the air.

Cleaning the Rakks, Mason speared the meat on metal rods he salvaged from the settlement and set them over the fire pit to cook before checking on the Siren. "VEGA? Any change?" he asked as the AI scanned her over again.

_**"Her current status has improved some. Though we won't know the full extent of her recovery until she wakes up I'm afraid."**_

Shaking his head with a sigh, the Doomslayer went to the other side of the fire and sat down. Going through the task of systematically cleaning his weapons after all of the combat they had seen that day while at the same time keeping watch.

**X**

Her head hurt. That's the first thing she realized when the land of the living came back to her.

Golden colored eyes opened and blinked a couple times as she looked up at the slanted metal ceiling above her. Her thoughts a jumbled mess as she tried to figure out what had happened.

Then she remembered. The loaders attacking, backing her into a corner at Lucky's, her wounds and imminent capture, then...that guy in the armor coming in and saving her...

Sitting up slowly, Lilith put a hand to the side of her head when a dull ache throbbed inside her skull before checking where she had been shot. Finding the wound, and all the others she had gotten, healed.

"What?" she wondered, looking around the room. Taking in the makeshift metal walls made from different panels, the fire with food cooking...and a familiar suit of armor on the floor leaning back against the wall beneath a window. The double barrel she had seen him with across his lap.

He didn't move. Sitting completely still like a statue with no recognition of the fact she was awake.

The Siren looked around her immediate area and found her SMG laying on the ground next to the mattress she was on. Picking it up, she found the gun fully loaded and ready to use if she needed it.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up. Wincing when her body ached as she tried to get to her feet.

"I wouldn't do that."

Lilith froze, golden eyes turning to the armor in time to see the helmet slowly turn to meet her gaze. "Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. I didn't have enough Anshin on hand to fully heal you."

Sighing, the Siren sat down on the edge of the mattress with her weapon across her lap. "I take it you brought me here?"

Her savior nodded. "Another group of loaders were dropped in after you passed out. Figured it would be better to move you to a safer spot to heal after I took them out." He stood up and approached the fire, checking on the food that was cooking. "Hope you don't mind Rakk, it was the only thing around worth eating."

Before she could answer, Lilith's stomach grumbled loud enough to be heard. In response she was offered a Rakk leg that she accepted graciously.

Taking his own, the armored warrior sat down across from her with the fire between them. Reaching up, a pressurized hiss was heard as he twisted his helmet a bit before pulling it off.

Lilith paused mid-bite to get a look at the one who saved her.

He didn't look much older than she was. Dark stubble running across the top of his head and along his jaw giving him a rugged appearance along with a couple of scars on his cheek and chin. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. Deep, glowing red that reflected an inner fire that raged below the surface. Waiting to be unleashed.

Yet for reasons unknown, Lilith wasn't afraid. The moment she saw those eyes, something inside of her calmed her nerves, almost like an instinct that was not her own trying to tell her that he could be trusted. Which left her confused beyond words.

Sensing her hesitation, those same red eyes looked up at her. "Something wrong?" he asked, making her blink.

"No...thanks for before. And, you know." she held up the Rakk leg a moment before biting into it.

"No worries. " came the simple reply before he bit into his own meal. The two of them eating in silence save for the crackling of the fire between them. Every so often the Siren would send the occasional glance a the one across from her. Trying to figure out his motive for helping her like he did.

It wasn't that she didn't believe he helped her because he could. But here on Pandora one couldn't be too sure if someone had another agenda planned out. And since not only was she a Siren, but one with a very high bounty on her head as well, she didn't want to take any chances.

Problem was she was still worn out from fighting Hyperion's robots. Her powers hadn't come back to full just yet to Phase walk and after what she saw at the bar her SMG probably wouldn't do enough damage if this guy turned on her.

Hopefully it wouldn't come down to a fight.

As if sensing her internal debate, her savior looked up at her with a knowing look. "If you have questions, feel free to ask. But just so you know, I'm not an enemy."

"Sorry if I don't take it at face value." Lilith replied honestly. "Not a lot of people do things because they're the right thing around here."

"Understandable, even more so with Hyperion out to get you." he said back while taking out a canteen and drinking from it, offering it to the Siren after doing so. "Like I said, I'm an open book. Ask anything."

Taking the offered canteen, the Siren took a drink before asking anything.

"How about a name first?"

"Mason Riley. You?"

"Lilith."

Mason nodded, "Nice to meet you, Lilith."

The red-head nodded back, "Same." she paused for a moment, "Why did you save me?"

"Seemed like the right thing to do at the time." was her answer, "That, and a _Guardian Angel_ contacted me and told me you were in trouble."

Lilith perked up at that, "Guardian Angel? Are you sure?"

The Doomslayer nodded, "Very. She contacted me through my echo, told me an important member of the resistance was in danger. Even had your coordinates. It was a good thing I arrived just in time too, they just about had you."

"Okay, but why bring me here?" Lilith asked while motioning around her, "Not that I'm ungrateful for the change of scenery, and the hospitality."

"Would you have prefered to be left back where Hyperion could get you?" Mason asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Touche." the Siren replied as she took another bite out of her meal. "Not very often someone tries to play hero here on Pandora."

Mason chuckled, "Now that, I am _definitely_ not. I'm the farthest thing from a hero you would ever meet." he said with blunt honesty.

Lilith looked confused, "Then what are you exactly?"

Pausing a moment, the Doomslayer looked down at his hand. Clenching his fist a couple of times in thought. "I'm not really sure myself anymore." he muttered, mostly to himself before looking back up and meeting the yellow gaze of the Siren across from him, "But, lets just say that I'm the monster sent to kill the rest of the monsters out there.

They finished eating in silence after that. Lilith keeping a sharp eye on her 'savior' with her SMG close, just incase. But Mason made no moves to cross to her side of the fire. Remaining where he was as he stared into the flames in front of him. His mind wandering to another plane.

Taking the time to get another look at him, the Siren was impressed by the armor he wore. She remembered the combat-loaders shooting at him and the rounds bouncing off the plates without even leaving a scratch. He didn't even have a shield equipped as he tore through their ranks in a way she was sure Brick would envy.

And his weapons. None of them looked remotely like any makes or models from the companies currently in circulation. The double-barrel across his lap looked like a Jakobs, but it lacked the distinct markings belonging to them.

He definitely wasn't from Pandora, that much was for certain. Maybe one of the other outer worlds in the system? He looked like he could handle any fight that came his way. It was hard to say really. Though it did make her wonder why he was here.

A dull ache where her bullet wound once was caused Lilith to flinch. Placing her hand over her side as it slowly faded. "You should get some more sleep." she almost jumped when Mason spoke up, having seen her reaction. "Once you've recovered enough, we'll head out."

"Head out where?" asked the Siren.

"Wherever you want to go. I sure as hell ain't going to leave you out here the way you are." replied the Doomslayer.

Lilith couldn't help but smile a little, "Offering me a ride to anywhere of my choosing? Is that your not so subtle way of trying to get into my good graces?"

Mason smirked back, knowing she was teasing. "Just figured people missed you somewhere. Thought I'd at least make sure you were somewhere safer and among allies."

Sighing, the red head nodded. "The Crimson Raiders HQ. It's located in a town called Sanctuary. It's out in Three Horns Divide...not really a short trip."

"I'll get you there in one piece." replied Mason as he stood, picking up his helmet and snapped it back in place over his head while heading to the door. "I'll keep watch. You just rest and focus on healing." with that he stepped outside.

Staring at the door a moment or two longer, Lilith carefully laid back on her makeshift bed. Her weapon still within reach as she got comfortable. More questions swirling in her head that she wanted more than anything to answer.

Fatigue began to settle in again fast, and with little choice but to leave her trust in Mason, the Siren closed her eyes and drifted off once again.

Not a moment after she fell asleep, the alien-like markings on her body glowed a soft orange. The power within the young woman reacting to the presence of something powerful, and familiar.

**X**

In her prison/bunker, Angel gasped. Her hand going to her chest while her markings glowed white.

**X**

On the planet Athenas, Maya awoke from a dead sleep. Her markings glowing blue when she felt something from far away. Something calling to her.

**X**

Across the galaxy, three other beings bearing the same markings as the Sirens experienced something similar. None of them aware of the reason, only that it left them with a strange feeling of being safe and a need to seek out the source.

**X**

Outside, Mason froze a couple meters from the shack. An odd sensation was felt in his chest, almost like a pull trying to lead him in different directions. One of which was directly behind him.

He looked back to where Lilith slept as the feeling faded away. Wondering where it had come from and why.

_**"Doomslayer, are you well?"**_ asked VEGA.

"Yeah. I'm fine." he replied, shaking his head as he began checking the perimeter of the small settlement. Oblivious to the sudden shift in the cosmos around him.

**A/N: It's good to be back after the holidays. **

**Seems the interaction with one Siren triggered something with the others. What could this mean? And how is Mason involved? Everything will become clear soon enough, bit for now I got some more writing to do!**

**Feel free to review and I'll be back before you know it!**


	6. Road to Sanctuary Pt1

_Mason stepped off the elevator he had rode down on and entered a metal corridor that went down several meters and ending at a massive, reinforced steel door that took up an entire wall at the opposing end._

_Plasma rifle in hand, muscles tense as he approached the sealed entrance, eyes scanning over the various locking mechanisms obviously designed to keep whatever was inside from getting out._

_ Adjusting his grip on the energy weapon in his hands, he stepped in front of the door, searching for a way to open it. Finding a small maintenance panel on the surface, reaching out, he tore off the covering to reveal a release lever._

_ Grabbing the handle, he yanked the lever down. Machinery coming alive as the locking mechanisms disengaged on the large door, the opening slowly coming apart-_

_ A massive clawed hand with a stone-like blade suddenly forcing through the small gap and forcing it open wider. The creature it belonged to reaching out and grabbing him before Mason could fire a shot, hurling him into the room beyond where he slammed his boots to the floor, staying upright as he slid across the floor to the other side._

_ The lights above came on, illuminating the chamber and revealing the huge demon that had tossed the Doom Slayer through the air. Standing over 30 feet tall with stone-like armor covering its frame, its entire left arm a massive cannon, a beast that was the twisted conception of flesh and metal._

_ Four small, slanted eyes glowed a dull orange as it leered at Mason, a pair of large horns situated atop its head, one of which looked to have been broken in half. Neither combatant did anything at first, seeming to size each other up._

_ Then the Cyberdemon let loose a bellowing roar that shook the entire room, and perhaps even the entire Lazarus Facility itself. A maw filled with razor sharp teeth and a set of mandibles on either side flaring widely, as the creature took a stance and raising its cannon arm, the barrel glowing brightly as it primed to fire._

_ Mason was moving just as the first rocket launched from the large weapon, a barrage soon following that trailed after the Doom Slayer's path and exploding right on his heels. His plasma rifle letting loose a salvo of blue bolts that splashed along the creature's flank._

_ The Cyberdemon roared and jolted to the left, thrusters built into its back by the scientists kicking on and making it move even faster out of the path of most of the energy rounds. Coming to a quick stop and hunching down before a volley of mini-rockets launched upward from its back. _

_ "Fuck." Mason cursed, his suit marking the trajectory of the ordinance as he sprinted out of the path of the coming explosions. Switching to his rocket launcher and letting loose his own explosive rounds that struck home in the beast's center of mass._

_ The two circled one another throughout the chamber, firing at each other at every possible opening. The Cyberdemon would occasionally raise its normal arm, a blade of fire extending from its forearm that it slashed through the air sending a flaming wave burning toward the Doom Slayer._

_ Mason gritted his teeth as he ducked under the attack, coming back up with his rocket launcher switching out and in its place was the familiar weight of his newly acquired BFG-9000. The powerful weapon charging to full in a matter of seconds before letting loose a green blast. _

_ The Cyberdemon taking the shot full force and stunning it, arcs of green energy dancing along its frame as it dropped to a kneeling position. _

_ Capitalizing on the beast's moment of vulnerability, Mason took out his chaingun and pummeled the creature with slugs, the barrage continuing even after the demon got its second wind and stood back up._

_ Roaring at its enemy, the creature summoned its fire-sword and went into a full charge. The Doom Slayer bellowing his own battlecry, bringing out his combat shotgun and meeting the beast head on..._

**X**

Mason awoke, sitting on the ground with his back against the door of the shack he had taken refuge in for the night. Shaking his head to rid himself from the last legs of the dream/memory he had relived, he stood and cracked his arms and back loudly before checking on Lilith who was still sleeping soundly beside the now dead fire.

After making sure that she was doing okay, he stepped outside to see the sun already shining brightly down on the desert landscape around him as he made his way to where he had the technical hidden.

Back inside, Lilith stirred in her sleep as she also dreamed...

**X**

_The landscape was engulfed in flames, blood flowed like a river from the countless human and alien-like beings that laid dead all over the place. Their bodies torn apart and looking as though they had been eaten while still alive._

_ A legion of creatures birthed from anyone's worst nightmares were everywhere, slaughtering and destroying everything in their path with merciless brutality. Their victims fighting back with everything they had, but were swarmed by their enemy's overwhelming numbers. _

_ Among the defenders, six women covered in glowing markings and angel-like wings fought the creatures with supernatural powers. But even they found themselves surrounded on all sides._

_ Things looked grim as the monsters went on the attack in what would most likely be the defenders' final stand._

_ Until HE came._

_ All the fighting came to an abrupt stop, all eyes training on a lone figure that stood on a ridge overlooking the battlefield. His large frame encased in armor that was torn and dented in several places, a massive sword made of red energy in hand as he leered down at the attacking monsters with unbridled hatred._

_ Roaring at the warrior, the creatures changed course and charged him as he barreled toward them. What followed was the perfect definition of a bloodbath as the unknown warrior tore through their ranks with his sword and his bare hands. Ripping the creatures limb from limb with a savagery that was unmatched._

_ It felt like an eternity of bloodshed and violence, but by the end, the horde laid dead all around. The warrior standing among the carnage covered in blood with his armor torn even more exposing the scarred muscles underneath, his red eyes surveying his work with satisfaction...and a lust for more._

_ The surviving humans and aliens approached him, the six powerful women leading them while an ethereal female voice whispered in the wind;_

_**HE APPEARED IN OUR DARKEST HOUR.**_

_** SLAYING THE BEASTS BENT ON OUR EXTINCTION.**_

_ The warrior turned to them, his red gaze causing many to freeze in fear of his wrath. But the women were unafraid as they stood before him._

_**HIS THIRST FOR BLOOD AND VIOLENCE ONLY QUELLED BY HIS NEED TO PROTECT.**_

_ One of the women reached out and placed a hand over his ruined chestplate, the others following one after another. Their markings glowing brighter while doing so._

_**HE BECAME OUR GUARDIAN. OUR PROTECTOR.**_

_What wounds that were on the warrior's body healed quickly, the rage within his very being going silently as he was surrounded by the combined power of the six women._

_**AND WE BECAME HIS ANCHORS. **_

_** A CALM IN THE NEVER ENDING STORM OF HIS RAGE FILLED SOUL.**_

_A bright light filled the air, blinding all those witnessing it._

_**WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST. WHEN THINGS ARE AT THEIR DARKEST.**_

_** THE SLAYER WILL RETURN TO AID US ONCE AGAIN.**_

**X**

Lilith awoke with a sharp gasp, sitting up with the images still very clear in her mind.

She'd never had a dream like that before. It felt...different. Like she was actually there, fighting a horde of monsters that made everything she had ever faced before look weak and feeble in comparison.

Then the unknown warrior appeared. Killing them all like they were nothing more than a minor obstacle. And the voice that seemed to echo deep within her very soul. Her mind was a mess, trying to figure out what exactly had happened and why.

Taking a couple minutes to collect herself, the Siren slowly got out of her makeshift bed. Her side still tender from her healing bullet wound as she picked up her SMG and stepped out of the shack and into the early sunlight.

Shielding her eyes from the brightness, Lilith noticed Mason standing beside an armored technical. Loading several small crates and rucksacks that were on the ground beside it into the back.

"Sleep good?" the Doomslayer asked, turning to face the Siren once everything was loaded.

"Sort of." the red head replied while she thought back on the dream she had. "Nice rig." she added, taking in the technical's added armor plating.

"Hasn't failed me yet, and it should get us to Sanctuary. Though we'll have to refuel somewhere along the way to make the full trip." Mason said as he put a couple of full gas cans into the back as well.

During the night, VEGA had plotted them the quickest route to Three Horns Divide and downloaded it to the Praetor suit's navigation. As long as they didn't run into too many delays, they should reach the Crimson Raider stronghold in a few days, maybe a week at most.

When he was finished loading the technical, Mason produced a couple Anshin hypos and handed them to Lilith. "Managed to find these while raiding the surrounding buildings. Figured you'd need another boost to get completely back on your feet."

The Siren took the syringes and injected herself with them. All of the remaining aches she had been feeling faded in seconds. "Thanks."

Nodding, the Doomslayer reached into one the pouches on his armor and produced a purple crystal the size of a tennis ball. "Thought you might need this too." he said, tossing her the nugget of Eridium much to her surprise.

Catching the offering, Lilith squeezed it between her hands while her eyes and tattoos glowed a bright orange. Purple energy shrouding her body as she absorbed the alien mineral into her body. Her powers returned in full, a pair of flaming wings extending from her back as she sighed in relief.

Mason watched the display, the slight awe in his calm gaze blocked by his helmet. The Siren looked like an angel that had risen from the surface of the sun itself, it was almost impossible to look away.

Then he had that feeling again. The strange pull he'd felt the night before came back, only this time a little stronger.

_"What's going on with me?"_ he wondered while shaking his head. Lilith powered down and looked far better than she had earlier.

"That's more like it." the Siren said while stretching a little. Then she paused, remembering something. "How did you know I needed the Eridium?"

"Let's just say I know things." the Doomslayer replied before climbing into the driver's seat of the technical. "You ready to hit the road? Got a long way to go."

Shrugging, Lilith vanished in a flash of purple light only to reappear in the passenger seat. "Long as you're offering a lift, you won't hear any complaints from me."

Mason smirked behind his visor as he turned over the engine and hit the accelerator, the technical kicking up dust as it shot away from the small settlement and into the desert beyond.

**X**

Roland sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in the last 24 hours.

Standing in the middle of the war room of Crimson Raider's HQ, he kept a sharp eye on the various transmissions being received by his operatives out in the field. But one particular communication had yet to come in.

Lilith's.

With everything that had happened, with tampering with Jack's plans over a year ago on Elpis which was followed by Hyperion's invasion, he and his fellow Vault Hunters did everything in their power to fight back. More than once nearly facing the end against overwhelming odds but still managing to scrape by.

Then New Haven happened.

Jack sent everything he had, including his most powerful enforcer to take them all out. In a last ditch effort, Lilith used damn near all her power to put an end to the fight. It cost them New Haven, but they managed to make it out with their lives...and Hyperion believed the Siren to be dead which also worked in their favor. Until now.

Lilith had been out scouting several locations for resources their resistance could use. Her last transmission had been her in the middle of a firefight before suddenly cutting off. That was over a day ago, and now Roland was starting to worry. Too many scenarios running through his head on what could have happened;

Did her echo break in the fight? Was she captured? Was she killed? He didn't want to think about either of the last two. Especially since he and the others knew what Jack did to prisoners.

Even though their attempt at dating didn't pan out in the end, they still remained good friends and watched each others back on the battlefield. All of them, Brick and Mordecai included, had been through so much together since the first Vault was opened and even before that. And as much as they all tried to focus on other things, it was hard when they were concerned about one of their own.

A loud knock had the CR Commander looking to the door where Mordecai stood in the threshold. Bloodwing on his shoulder as always while the sniper took a drink from the bottle in his hand.

"Still nothing?" he asked, shuffling into the room and flopping down on a nearby sofa.

"No. And that worries me." said Roland.

"Lilith's probably just laying low, Rol. Give it time." Mordecai said as he took another long drink.

"Her last check-in was when she was in the middle of a firefight against combat loaders. Not hearing from her for over a day after that is something we can't take lightly." the Commander stated, giving his nearly drunk friend a hard look.

Sighing, the sniper got up and approached the holo-table in the middle of the room, "She's gonna be fine. You'll see. Not even Wilhelm could bring her down on a good day."

As much as he wanted to share in his friend's belief, Roland was still unsure. Lilith was a badass, good with a gun, sharp mind, and she was a Siren on top of it all. But he knew full well that anyone could be overwhelmed if things took a turn for the worst. He just hope she contacted them soon before-

_**"...Hey...any...ody...there?" **_

Roland was at the terminal in two steps when the words were spoken. Broken up by static, but clearly a woman. And a familiar one.

"Lilith? You there? Come in!" the Commander said while tinkering with a few knobs and hitting a few keys to clear things up.

_**"Rol...d? Kinda spot...Giv...a second..."**_

More static filled the air for several seconds before Lilith's voice came over loud and clear.

_**"Can you hear me now?" **_

Roland sighed in relief, "Loud and clear, Lil. What's your status?"

_**"Kinda fucked up. Got in a tight spot. Echo was shot to hell and Jack's tin cans almost had me." **_she replied.

"At least you escaped. Can you make it back here?"

_**"On my way now. Without my echo I can't use the Fast Travel Network. It's going to take me a while." **_

"That's a long way from the Dust on foot, Amiga." said Mordecai coming up to stand beside Roland.

_**"It's all good, Mordi. I managed to hitch a ride with the guy who saved my ass from Hyperion." **_

Both men looked at one another a moment, "Can he be trusted?" asked Roland.

_**"He kept me from bleeding to death and is giving me a free ride to Sanctuary, pretty sure I can."**_ the Siren snarked a bit, _**"I only just met him...but he can be trusted. Call it instinct or whatever."**_

"Alright, I'll trust your judgement on this, Lil. Just get yourself back here safely."

_**"You worry too much, Roland. I'll keep you posted if anything changes."**_ the connection ended after that

Mordecai smirked, "Told ya you had nothing to worry about."

Roland shook his head, all the while wondering exactly who had saved Lilith.

**X**

Ending the echo-call, Lilith walked back to the technical where Mason waited patiently. They had parked at the top of a large hill so that she could get a signal to the others at Sanctuary, if anything to let them know she was alive and on her way back.

"Everything good?" the Doomslayer asked as he accepted his echo back from his Siren passenger.

"Yeah, but if I know Roland you can expect an interrogation when we get there." Lilith said as she dropped back down in her seat. "Ever since he took the role as head of the CR he's gotten even more tight assed and cautious than he was before."

"He's leading a resistance force against a large invading army led my a madman with a god complex. Pretty sure he has a right to be more than a little paranoid." replied Mason honestly as he started driving them again.

The Siren leaned her head back and closed her eyes, "I know that, believe me. It's just that so much ended up changing in such little time. We just barely took down the freak that came out of the Vault before everything went tits-up again. Starting to think we were cursed or something...or Pandora's what's cursed."

"Both sound plausible." said the Doomslayer, "But at least you guys are adaptable and making the best of what you can. That's something."

Lilith opened her eyes and glanced his way, "You know a bit about me so far, but I haven't learned much about you other than your name." she pointed out.

Mason looked her way a moment before focusing on the desert in front of them, "Ask anything. Though don't expect complete answers until we get to Sanctuary. Better to get everyone in the loop at once."

"Alright. Where are you from?" asked the Siren.

_Images of fire and brimstone came to mind. Desecrated bodies strung up by their entrails, rivers of blood flowing through large land masses that floated through an infinite abyss filled with the sounds of tortured souls._

"Somewhere you never want to end up...trust me." Mason answered grimly.

Blinking at the sudden change in her companion's demeanor, Lilith switched gears. "Why are you here on Pandora? Not exactly an ideal vacation spot."

The Doomslayer chuckled, "Compared to the last place I was at, this _is_ a vacation. As for why I'm here? Like I said last night, I kill monsters. And there's a good surplus of them around here. They just wear Human skin."

"So you're a bounty hunter, or something?" the Siren pressed a little.

"Or something." was her only reply. Driving the technical past several large rock formations.

A moment later, a half dozen runners hidden among them roared to life and began following them.

_**"Doomslayer, I'm picking up six runner-class land vehicles closing in behind us."**_ VEGA reported in Mason's helmet, causing him to perk up.

"What is it?" Lilith asked when she saw the sudden movement.

Looking over his shoulder, Mason could see the six separate dust clouds behind them, "We got company." The technical was already at top speed, but given that it was weighted down with its larger frame and armor plating it wasn't nearly as fast as the runners closed in fast. Splitting off into two groups and forming a V as they closed in around them.

Lilith had her SMG ready in one and the tattoos glowing in preparation. The bandits hooting and hollering at them from their vehicles while the ones on the turrets took aim at theirs. "Mason!" she shouted.

"Hang on!" he shouted back as he slammed the breaks. The technical stopped and immediately fell back as the two runners in the lead opened fire, but instead of hitting their target they ended up hitting each other. One runner exploded under the assault while the other's driver had gotten hit and veered off course.

Drawing his double barrel, Mason aimed out his window and shot the driver of another runner. The buckshot tearing into the bandit and spraying blood through the air, a second shot taking out the gunner as the vehicle flipped over a sand dune.

Lilith sprayed rounds from her own weapon and took out a psycho that was attempting to jump on their technical. Reloading, she fired a blast from her left hand and set another gunner on fire.

The remaining runners backed off, remaining behind the technical where they fired on them from a safe distance. The heavy rounds pelting the armor in a constant ringing. "Lilith, take the wheel." Mason got up and climbed into the empty gunner seat of their vehicle.

The Siren quickly jumped behind the wheel and took control, "What are you planning?!" she called over her shoulder.

Instead of answering, the Doomslayer brought forth his gauss cannon. Attaching the precision mod onto the railgun-like weapon as he set it up on the turret canopy's railing and took aim at the bandits on their tail.

Scope linking with the Praetor suit's HUD, Mason charged the cannon and fired. The thin beam of powerful energy lanced through the air and struck the front of the closest bandit vehicle, shearing through the metal like it was butter and hitting. The runner going up in a large fireball as it was thrown backwards.

Adjusting his aim, he fired another shot that reduced the driver to a burst of red mist and setting the rest of the vehicle aflame.

The last runner immediately changed direction and fled after seeing the fate of the others. But Mason wasn't in the mood for mercy at the moment and followed them with the gauss cannon's scope. One final shot hitting the engine and reducing it to flaming shrapnel.

Powering the large weapon down, Mason stored it back in his suit before climbing back down into the passenger seat with Lilith still driving. The Siren giving him a bewildered look as they left the smoldering husks of the bandit vehicles behind them.

Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, the Doomslayer looked back. "...what?"

"What the _fuck_ was that?!" she asked, having bore witness to the utter destruction of their pursuers.

"What I do best." Mason replied with a casual shrug as they continued on unhindered.

**A/N: The road to Sanctuary has begun, and by the end of it you can bet that Lilith just might learn a bit more about her new companion.**

**But the real questions are, who else will they encounter along the way? And what is the connection between the Doomslayer and the Sirens? The answers, will definitely surprise you in the end.**

**Till next time folks!**


	7. Road to Sanctuary Pt2

_Previously:_

_The Siren quickly jumped behind the wheel and took control, "What are you planning?!" she called over her shoulder._

_ Instead of answering, the Doomslayer brought forth his gauss cannon. Attaching the precision mod onto the railgun-like weapon as he set it up on the turret canopy's railing and took aim at the bandits on their tail._

_ Scope linking with the Praetor suit's HUD, Mason charged the cannon and fired. The thin beam of powerful energy lanced through the air and struck the front of the closest bandit vehicle, shearing through the metal like it was butter and hitting. The runner going up in a large fireball as it was thrown backwards._

_ Adjusting his aim, he fired another shot that reduced the driver to a burst of red mist and setting the rest of the vehicle aflame._

_ The last runner immediately changed direction and fled after seeing the fate of the others. But Mason wasn't in the mood for mercy at the moment and followed them with the gauss cannon's scope. One final shot hitting the engine and reducing it to flaming shrapnel._

_ Powering the large weapon down, Mason stored it back in his suit before climbing back down into the passenger seat with Lilith still driving. The Siren giving him a bewildered look as they left the smoldering husks of the bandit vehicles behind them._

_ Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, the Doomslayer looked back. "...what?" _

_ "What the _fuck_ was that?!" she asked, having bore witness to the utter destruction of their pursuers. _

_ "What I do best." Mason replied with a casual shrug as they continued on unhindered._

**X**

A couple of days had passed since Mason and Lilith had set off toward Sanctuary. Since then, other than the occasional raider patrol or bandit camp the duo had little to no trouble on their journey.

The Dust was behind them now, the temperature steadily dropping as they ventured into the Highlands on their way to the frozen wastes of Pandora.

Currently, the Siren and the Doomslayer were stopped at a small settlement. They'd done so a couple of times to rest and collect supplies along the way, and this time wasn't any different.

Lilith stood leaning against the hood of the technical, a lit cigarette between her lips as she watched Mason finish his dealings with the small town's leader. Collecting the bounties and supplies they had gained from doing a couple of favors for the people here.

She'd gotten to know the armored warrior in the last few days since he had saved her, though not nearly as much as she would have liked. She'd seen him literally go through whole groups of bandits and even throw out a few wisecracks now and again. They would joke with one another and share a few things with each other, however every time she tried to get a little more out of him about where he was from or who he was he would either divert the conversation or completely shut himself off.

It normally wasn't in her personality to pry too much into others' pasts, but she couldn't help but wonder more about him the longer they were together. But whatever it was that he was keeping from her must have been something big for him to keep it so close to the chest.

Taking another drag of her cigarette, the Siren continued to think on things. No doubt Jack still knew of her being alive, which meant he would be sending his death squads or hired assassins after her at some point. But ever since what happened back at Lucky's there hadn't been a single sign of Hyperion, almost like they were keeping their distance.

Lilith clenched her fist, her tattoos glowing for a brief moment. Let them come. She'd burn them all to ashes for the shit they'd put her and everyone else through these last couple of years.

Relaxing her tense muscles and reigning in her power, the Siren finished her cigarette and crushed it on the ground under her boot. She'd been keeping Roland and the others updated, doing so in a way Jack and his geek squad couldn't track the transmission easily. Though her friends were happy to hear from her, they were still on the fence about Mason given that they knew so little about him.

But they trusted her instincts, and as far as she was concerned the Doom Slayer wasn't a threat to her or the others...to everyone else however...

**X**

Mason finished collecting the rewards from the recent bounties he and Lilith had finished. Even if the tasks had delayed them for a little bit, they were doing good for the folks out here and earning needed supplies along the way.

Business finished, he made his way over to where the Siren was waiting by their vehicle. Tossing her a roll of bills that was her share of the take. "All set." he said while climbing into the driver's seat.

Lilith nodded and got into the passenger side before they set off back on their journey, the small settlement disappearing behind them as they continued on to the frozen wastes. The duo silent for a long stretch of time before the Doom Slayer decided to break it.

"Sorry."

The Siren looked up at him with a raised eyebrow at the random word.

"You've been trying to understand more about who I am for the last few days and I've remained illusive. I also know that you're friends in the Crimson Raiders don't completely trust me, not that I blame them. But there's a reason why I haven't divulged much." Mason answered the unasked question before glancing over at his passenger, "And before you can say it, no, it's not because I don't trust you. It's because if what I say gets overheard by the wrong side, it won't lead to anything good. It's too big a risk."

"It must be something big, then." replied Lilith, now understanding why he was so tight-lipped.

Mason nodded, "Believe me, it is. In ways you can never imagine. When we get to Sanctuary, I'll tell my whole story. And it'll be one for the history books."

That last bit really peaked the Sirens curiosity, but she kept it under control and decided to wait for when they reached their destination

Another hour came and went with very little happening, the expanse of the Highlands passing them as they drove through the green countryside. Even with the planet at war and host to an array of crazies and psychopaths, there were several places that had pretty decent scenery.

Crossing a bridge over a large river, Lilith's newly acquired echo went off with an incoming call.

"Lilith here." the Siren answered.

_**"Lil, it's Roland. Where are you guys right now?" **_

"The Highlands, we should be in Three Horns in the next day or two."

_**"As great as that is, we got a situation and you two are the only ones close enough to provide assistance."**_

Lilith sat up straighter, Mason kept driving but paid closer attention. "What's the problem, Roland?"

_**"We received intel about a lab where Jack's lackies were experimenting with Eridium. None of it was anything good or something that should continue. I sent out a squad to recon the place but they haven't checked back yet."**_ said the Commander.

"And you want us to check it out?" asked Lilith.

_**"Exactly. I already have another team being assembled to go in and shut the place down. Anything you can figure out about the place could give us the needed edge we need to bring it all down for good."**_

The Siren and the Doomslayer shared a look and nodded to one another, "Send us the coordinates and we'll do what we can."

_**"Already done. Be careful out there." **_the call ended and the directions to the lab mentioned appeared on Lilith's echo.

_**"I have collected the coordinates and added them to the Praetor suit's mapping systems."**_ VEGA said within Mason's helmet as a nav point appeared on his HUD. _**"I have also managed to acquire the same intel given to Roland in regards to the lab. Their scientists have been researching Eridium, and its affects on local wildlife. This also includes any and all Humans they have captured as well. Such experiments have yielded...unsettling results."**_

Mason had already adjusted the technical's direction and pressed the gas pedal harder to the floor.

It didn't take a genius to know what the 'results' VEGA had mentioned were.

**X**

The facility Roland told them about wasn't hard to find. Infact, when they found it Mason quickly realized that this is where the 'Hyperion Wildlife Preservation' would be stationed in a few years.

Currently, the place was still under construction, but the labs and holding areas were still functioning for whatever experiments were being committed inside.

Stashing the technical in a cave a safe distance away, Mason and Lilith trekked along a rocky ridge that overlooked the facility and a good portion of the area around it. The Doomslayer enhancing the vision of his visor to observe the various loaders and Hyperion personnel working and patrolling along the outside. VEGA marking several points of interest that would be useful.

"Whatever they have going on here, they really don't want people seeing." said Lilith, looking through the scope of a Vladof assault rifle she had picked up a day prior. "No sign of the recon team."

"We're not going to find them."

The Siren looked over at Mason and saw him kneeling on the ground beside a pool of blood. Boot prints, large gashes and discarded shell casings scattered all around showing signs of combat.

Standing, the Doomslayer followed a series of drag marks leading from where he had been around a corner and down the ridge to the open mouth of a cave. Combat shotgun in hand, he stepped inside with Lilith right behind him.

The light from the opening revealing enough of the interior to show a series of smaller openings along the back wall of the cave. Along with piles of bones, both Human and otherwise, scattered along the floor.

The bloody streaks Mason had been following ended at one such pile where a half eaten body was laid. The head, legs and an arm had been chewed off, the armor that had been worn by whoever it was was shredded but it was easy to make out the Crimson Raider's sigil on the still intact shoulder guard.

Resting the shotgun on his shoulder, Mason knelt down and pried a blood covered echo from the corpse's hand. VEGA accessed the device and brought up the last recording dated a couple hours prior;

_**"Man, these Hyperion assholes are really dug in. Are we ever going to win this? I mean, Roland's got a good thing going with the Crimson Raiders and all, but is there even a chance of us taking down Jack and his damn legion of robots?"**_

_** "At least we can bring this one place down. Just have to-"**_

_** "Oh god! Contact! Contact! Kill it b-"**_

The rest of the recording was lost to the sounds of gunfire, shouting and animalistic shrieks.

Those same shrieks echoed from the smaller caves infront of the duo when the recording came to an end.

Tossing the echo aside, Mason brought his shotgun to bare just as several Stalkers came crawling out of their holes. Mandibles flaring as they hissed at the intruders in their home.

"Guess we know what happened to them now." said Lilith as she aimed at the nearest Stalker, her eyes and tattoos glowing in preparation.

One of the Stalkers leaped at the Humans, but was swiftly brought down when the butt of Mason's shotgun smashed it to the ground. The Doomslayer slammed his boot on the lizard-like creature's side, breaking ribs and an arm as he did so before blasting its head off.

This caused the rest of the colony to attack. Lilith and Mason both let loose a barrage of AR rounds and shotgun blasts into their ranks. Two of the Stalkers hung back and shot spikes at the duo by flinging their tails in their direction, forcing the Siren to Phasewalk out of the line of fire.

She reappeared a moment later between the Stalkers in an explosion of flames that set them ablaze. Their shrieks of agony echoing through the cave before they collapsed into smoldering heaps on the floor.

Mason blew a hole through another stalker before snapping his hand out and grabbing a smaller one that tried to leap onto his head. Breaking its neck with a sharp squeeze before throwing it another and taking it out of the air mid-leap. A quick register from his shotgun put it down as a barrage of full auto fire brought down the last one not too far away.

"Well, that was a nice warm up." Lilith said, reloading her rifle before dropping back down to the cave floor.

"Shame, was expecting more of a challenge." said Mason as he kicked one of the larger Stalkers he had killed. "Must be a small colony."

Before the Siren could reply, a loud explosion was heard from somewhere outside followed quickly by the blaring of alarms.

They ran from the cave and back to the edge of the ridge to see the facility in chaos. Loaders and guards scrambling all over, some gathering where smoke could be seen billowing up from somewhere within.

"The fuck just happened?" Lilith said over all the noise. She didn't get a response, instead she saw Mason jump down from the edge and slide down the slope to the ground below where he sprinted toward the facility.

Calling after him, the Siren cursed again before Phasewalking to the ground and running after him. Finding herself unable to keep up as the Doomslayer ran at speeds that she was sure their technical couldn't match despite the suit of armor he wore.

His massive frame barreling through the loaders and guards that got into his path like a living bulldozer, bullets bouncing off his armor like flies as he charged ahead unhindered. One combat technician managed to jump onto Mason in a vain attempt to either stop or slow him down.

In response, Mason grabbed the yellow armored man by the face plate of his helmet. And without breaking stride, smashed the Hyperion operative's head against a guard tower as he ran past it, painting the wall with blood and grey matter. Anyone who got in his way met a similar fate before he reached the main entrance to the facility

_**"The facility is on lockdown. Whatever happened to cause the explosion inside has triggered emergency protocols. More Hyperion personnel may also be enroute." **_VEGA reported.

Mason brought his fist back and punched it through the middle of the entrance where the two steel doors met, making a hole big enough to fit both his hands in where he then gripped the edges and began to pry them open.

The steel groaned and screeched, sparks flying as he pried the entrance open. Flinging the doors open and surprising those who were on the other side.

"Freeze! By the order of Hyperion, you are-" the soldier was cut off when the Doomslayer backhanded him hard enough to separate his head from the rest of his body. His HAR appearing in his hands as he opened up on the rest of the personnel within range. Combat loaders popped out of the walls and unfolded to fight the intruder, but were blown apart by a salvo of pod rockets fired from the powerful assault weapon.

Lilith had just barely made it to the torn open entrance and bore witness to the carnage Mason was unleashing on Hyperion's forces. The Siren was actually speechless as she watched him literally ripping some of the soldiers to pieces, blood spraying along the walls and floor in his rampage. Whatever had kick started all of this, he was definitely on a mission. And she was pretty sure nothing these guys could throw at him would even slow him down if what she was witnessing was anything to go by.

"Fuck it." she said with a shrug as she took out a couple of stragglers who were attempting to flee. She'd ask him about what the hell was going on when it was all done, until then she owed Jack's whipping boys a little payback.

**X**

Another Hyperion soldier screamed for mercy moments before he was thrown against a wall, a massive boot coming down a moment later and splattering his brains over the metal surface.

Mason raised his HAR and fired another barrage of pod rockets that took apart a pair of BUL-loaders that were attempting to keep him from going farther into the facility.

The moment he heard the explosion back on the ridge, something forced him to act. Before he knew it he was down the slope and charging into the thick of it like he was back on Mars all over again. His instincts leading him somewhere inside the building which made him wonder what the cause could be.

Whatever it was, he felt that it was important. That was enough for him to act.

Knowing Lilith was behind him, the Doomslayer made sure that Hyperion's focus was on him. Which wasn't hard considering the amount of carnage he was unleashing on their ranks.

**"No. Stop."** a loader begged in their standard monotone as he tore its legs off and crushed the rest beneath the heel of his boot. Using the legs as clubs had he bashed a pair of combat technitians to death with them.

Kicking open another door that was locked, Mason found himself in what must have been the holding area. Jail cells made of reinforced glass lined the walls containing various animal species found all across Pandora, but some contained the bodies of citizens from bandits to civilians.

A couple even having women and children.

Blood boiling, Mason drew his chainsaw and revved it loudly. The various scientists and guards who were attempting to flee as they looked upon the armored man covered in blood now wielding the deadly instrument.

One brave (dumb) soul attempted to shoot him, but was met with the chainsaw's blade piercing his stomach. The whirling teeth shredding through tissue and bone as he was lifted into the air, his screams drowned out by the roar of the weapon's motor as the man was dissected upward through his head. Blood and gore splashing on the ceiling and the cells around them while the rest of the personnel screamed in obvious terror.

Every swipe of the chainsaw was met with more blood and another dead body, the once clean corridor now painted in large splashes of crimson. The scientists plead for mercy, but was met with none.

They didn't show any to the victims of their experiments. So they wouldn't get any from him either.

Storing the chainsaw, Mason drew his double barrel and stalked toward the end of the corridor that had another reinforced door with a retinal scanner that had 'SLAG TESTING' written in bold above.

Looking down, he saw a male scientist whimpering as he attempted to crawl away with one of his legs missing below the knee. Movement that was halted when the Doomslayer grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into the air.

"N-No...please!" the man begged as Mason all but dragged him to the door. "I-It wasn't all me! It was just a job! We didn't know what Jack was doing!"

The Slayer said nothing as he took the scientist by the back of the head and brought him up to the wall beside the door. "WAIT! STO-" the man was cut off when he was slammed viciously into retinal scanner. Metal and bone crunching from the impact as the locks switched from red to green and the door slid open.

Dropping the now dead scientist, Mason stepped into the now opened wing and was met with destruction. Lab equipment laid scattered and broken, walls were cracked and several dead bodies laid around.

_**"These are signs of an explosion."**_ said VEGA. _**"If we can pinpoint the origin of the blast, we might find the cause. And perhaps any survivors that had attempted to fight back." **_

"Here's to hoping." Mason said for the first time since entering the facility. He started combing over the ruins of the lab, trying to find any sign of life that wasn't Hyperion. His investigation taking him to a small room in the back where it looked as though experiments had recently been done. A pair of chairs with restraints in the middle.

One looked as though someone had managed to tear their way out of it...but the other looked as though it had been melted by acid. A pile of smoldering purple sludge laid on the flood, bubbling ominously.

_**"I have ran scans on the substance. It is Slag. Byproduct of Eridium refining. I am also detecting traces of Human remains still deteriorating within it." **_said VEGA.

Mason's grip on the super shotgun tightened. Someone had died in here. In agony as their body melted from slag exposure. Had he been the same as he was before his 'rebirth' he would be retching right about now.

But currently, his rage was steadily reaching its peak.

Knowing what Hyperion was doing was one thing, to see it was something else...and a lot of people were going to die because of it.

However, something felt familiar about all of this. But he couldn't remember completely for the life of him.

Turning his attention to the far wall of the room, the Doomslayer saw a large hole that had been blown through it. More than likely from a grenade given the remains that were left behind.

Stepping through the opening, ducking down enough to fit through, Mason found himself in a maintenance tunnel that ran through the facility. Following the open path for several meters until he picked up what sounded like soft gasps and whimpering from somewhere ahead.

_"That sounds like...crying?" _Mason thought as he continued forward toward the sounds, doing his best to be as soft and quiet as possible. The source coming from behind a series of pipes at the end of the tunnel that ran into the wall where a tiny shoe covered foot poked out from underneath it.

Storing the double barrel, the Doomslayer crouched down and peered through the large gap in the pipes to see a little girl curled up in the corner. Doing her best to stay hidden and quiet as she cried into her hands.

Surprised at this, Mason steeled himself as he spoke as softly as he could;

"Hello in there. Are you okay?"

The girl jumped, eyes wide and filled with fear as she saw the massive man in armor looking into her hiding spot. Scrambling as far back as she could even though she had no where else to go.

_**"The child's heartrate and respiration have spiked alarmingly. No doubt she is traumatized by whatever she was forced to endure here."**_ said VEGA. _**"I recommend a very calm approach. Any sudden or wrong motions could cause a violent response."**_

Mason held up his hands before slowly reaching up and removing his helmet. Revealing his face to the girl as he set it down beside him. "It's okay. I promise I'm not with the people who run this place. I'm here to help." he spoke slowly and gently. "My name is Mason. Can you tell me yours?"

The girl blinked, her eyes locking with the Doomslayer's glowing red gaze. "T-Tina. My name is Tina." she spoke with such a soft tone he almost didn't hear her.

It felt like a punch to the side of the head when the child said her name. Immediately Mason was bombarded by his old knowledge of this world;

Images of a 13 year old girl. A master of explosives. A good heart, but crazy as sin with a fair amount of bloodlust.

"Tiny Tina." The Doomslayer muttered lowly. He looked back toward the girl only to blink in surprise when he saw her now standing infront of him and no longer in her hiding place. She didn't look no older than nine, her tiny frame dressed in pink shorts and a yellow t-shirt with a pink apron with flowers and rabbits on it, all of which were dirty and had a couple blood stains on them

Her short blonde hair just barely reached her shoulders, and her eyes a soft blue that looked up at him with curiosity despite her earlier bout of fear.

"Your eyes are pretty." she said out of the blue. "They glow in the dark."

Mason smiled at her, though he was wondering how much her young mind was fractured due to what she had been through here. "Thanks. Your eyes are pretty cool too." he motioned back the way he came. "Did you make that big hole in the wall?"

Tina nodded, "Yeah. I used the funny rock I had hidden in my apron. Mommy told me to use it...before..." her eyes teared up and she began crying again, remembering what had befallen her mother.

Lost in her grief, she found herself wrapped in a pair of large arms and brought into the armored chest of the one who had found her. Mason holding her gently as her little body shook with each heart-wrenching sob.

It was bad enough she lost her parents...but to see them die like that?

His eyes flashed dangerously. None of those Hyperion assholes were going to leave this place alive if he had anything to say about it.

Putting a lid on his growing rage. Mason waited for Tina to calm a bit before having her look up at him. "Me and a friend are on our way to somewhere safe. Do you want to come with us?"

The girl wiped her eyes and nodded. The Doomslayer nodding back as he picked up his helmet and secured it back in place. He then scooped Tina up and cradled her to his chest in his left arm while brandishing his super shotgun in the other before making his way back to the opening she had made.

Stepping back into he lab, being sure to keep the sight of what remained of her mother out of view. Mason headed back to the holding area just as Lilith came in through the door.

"Saw your work out there. Christ, you're one brutal son of..." the Siren trailed off when she saw what her companion had been carrying.

"Tina, this is Lilith, the friend I was telling you about." Mason introduced, "Lilith, this is Tina. She's coming with us."

Lilith immediately picked up the not so subtle tone in his voice. Coupled with what Hyperion had been doing here, none of the scenarios that came to mind were anything good about what she had probably been through. She looked at the girl and put on her best smile, "Hey kiddo. It's nice to meet you."

Tina blinked as she looked over the pretty red-headed woman with the blue markings on her arm. "You're pretty." she stated bluntly which surprised the Siren.

"You're not so bad yourself." Lilith replied while ruffling the little girl's hair, making her beam at the older woman.

_**"Doomslayer. I'm picking up a large number of Hyperion personnel enroute to this location." **_VEGA reported after hearing the local chatter.

"We need to move, Hyperion's regrouping." Mason said, breaking up the moment, "Lilith, can you Phasewalk with other people?"

The Siren nodded, "Yeah, as long as I have enough juice to do it." She then found Tina being held out to her.

"Take Tina, and get back to the technical. I'll catch up in a minute." said the Doomslayer.

"Wait, what?" Lilith asked, storing her weapon and taking the girl into her arms. "What are you planning?"

The Doomslayer brought his super shotgun to bare, "I'm gonna make sure this place is no longer standing. Along with the assholes that run it."

She wanted to argue, wanting to get in on giving it to Hyperion just as much, but one look at Tina who was now curled into her with her face in the Siren's neck made her reconsider. Sighing deeply, Lilith nodded. "Kill a few of 'em for me."

"Count on it." Mason replied before making his way farther into the facility.

Lilith watched his retreating back a moment longer before her eyes and tattoos glowed. Both she and Tina vanishing in a fiery flash a second later.

Having seen the flash in his peripheral, Mason's rage began to spread through his veins. "VEGA, where were these asshats keeping their Eridium?"

The AI tapped into the facility's systems and brought up a map on his HUD. _**"Eridium storage is in the exact center of the facility."**_ a marker appearing over the location mentioned. _**"If you don't mind my asking, what do you plan to do?" **_

A malicious grin stretched across the Doomslayer's face. "They want to experiment with Slag? Then we'll turn this whole place into a 'testing ground'."

**X**

**A/N: Just when you think the plot couldn't thicken a little more. **

**Tina's origins are pretty sparse save for the handful of echos you manage to find in BL2, so I figured I'd add my own flare for the sake of it. And in doing so, Mason and Lilith have another traveling companion on the way to Sanctuary. But more on that later.**

**Handsome Jack and his employees are about to see just how dangerous the Doomslayer really is, as if they hadn't already. And more of his origins will be revealed to those who have come to trust him. The next chapter is going to be a rollercoaster ride without breaks folks! A lot of carnage ahead...through the power of the BFG Division!**


	8. Sending a Message

On the ridge outside of the facility, a flash of fire signaled Lilith phasing back into existence with her little passenger.

"Whoa...cool." Tina said in awe after experiencing the Siren's abilities first hand.

The older woman smiled as she set her down, "You better believe it, kiddo." she turned her attention back to the facility, looking for any signs of Mason. The little girl following her example with a little worry in her eyes.

"He'll be okay, right?" asked Tina.

Lilith went to speak when an explosion shook the ground they stood on. A pillar of smoke and flames reaching into the sky as a section of the structure collapsed in on itself.

"I think he'll be just fine." said the Siren.

**X**

**["Flesh and Metal (W/Build up)" - Doom 2016 OST]**

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM BEFORE HE-GHAAA!"

"FUCK! HE'S FUCKING BULLETPROOF!"

"PLEASE I SURRENDER!"

"RETREAT! RETREAT BEFORE IT'S TOO-NO!"

A Hyperion tried to reload his shotgun, hands shaking as he dropped the clip he was feeding into it before a large hand grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face against the wall. He was then dragged downward leaving a red smear in his wake.

Mason spun around, leveling his super shotgun and firing both barrels. The spread blowing a combat engineer's chest open and throwing him back in the room he had come out of.

Throughout the corridor, and several others before that, the remains of dozens of Hyperion personnel and loaders laid scattered. Some of them in pieces from the unstoppable force that was the Doom Slayer. Their regrouped forces doing nothing to hinder his progress.

Breaking the double barrel open, sending the spent shells clattering to the floor, he loaded in two fresh ones and snapped it closed again. His heavy footfalls echoing ominously through the corridor as he got closer to his objective.

Most of the personnel that hadn't been slaughtered were in the process of fleeing once they realized what they were up against. It didn't matter in the end, however. Mason was on the warpath.

Though, if he were honest, he almost missed killing demons.

His rebirth had changed him in many ways. Throughout his exodus through Mars and Hell he quickly figured out it wasn't just physically. Mentally he had changed in a multitude of ways as well.

He could think quicker, retain more information. His instincts were heightened to super-human levels and acquired a mastery of any weapon he got his hands on. But the two most prominent changes were his never ending bloodlust when enraged, and the memories.

Memories of places and people that he knew nothing of. Coming at random moments leaving a slight headache behind, almost like two different minds were conflicting with one another.

Whatever was happening to him, it all came back to waking up from that sarcophagus. And he had yet to find any answers. Even the ominous message he got when he first put on the Praetor suit had yet to yield anything. All he could do was adapt and try to make sense of things as he went along.

Continuing his intended path. Mason lifted his large boot up and kicked a door open. The metal warping inward and giving away instantly, flying into the next corridor and crushing an unsuspecting guard that had been unlucky enough to be on the other side.

Other guards and loaders opened fire on the intruder as he charged into their ranks. His super shotgun registering twice resulting in the deaths of two more soldiers before his fist was driven through the center of th combat-loader.

Throwing the bot aside, Mason swung his double barrel like a club and sent another soldier flying into the window of a closed cell and cracking the reinforced glass. He then sent the super shotgun back to storage, grabbing another guard and viciously snapping his neck to the point of his head facing the opposite direction.

A pair of combat engineers tried to double-team the slayer, only to find both their heads grabbed in Mason's large hands. Their skulls smashed together in a burst of blood and brain matter a second later.

"FUCK THIS! I'M OUTTA HERE!" one of the remaining soldiers shouted as he turned tail and fled, several others following his example. But the slayer wasn't in the mood, his chaingun appearing in his hands and spooling up before unleashing a hellstorm of slugs that tore them down before they had a chance to escape.

After only a few seconds, Mason released the trigger. The revolving barrel slowing to a stop with smoke emitting from the end, the hallway beyond it swathed with blood, body parts, chunks of armor and bullet holes.

_**"The Eridium storage is just beyond the door ahead."**_ said VEGA. Not commenting on the carnage the slayer had been dishing out for the last few minutes. _**"I am also detecting Hyperion IFF signals matching those similar with WAR-class combat loaders."**_

"Well then," Mason said as his rocket launcher appeared in his hands, "Let's go in and say hi."

_**BOOM!**_

The sealed door to the storage room was blown wide open as the Doom Slayer stalked in through the smoke. Entering a large storage room filled with various crates and barrels baring either the Hyperion logo, or an array of warning signs.

And as VEGA had informed, six WAR-loaders that all unfolded and locked their weapons on Mason.

**"Surrender. Or we open fire."** demanded the loader in the front. Its response being a trio of rockets that blew it to pieces.

The remaining loaders opened fire, the slayer charging ahead and avoiding their incendiary rounds thanks to his supernatural speed. His rocket launcher was traded for his HAR, using the precision scope to shoot out the optic of another robot, blinding it before sliding between its legs and coming up the otherside where he shot it in the back with a cluster of pod rockets.

Another WAR-loader attempted to stomp on Mason, but the armored Human proved to be too quick as he jumped into the air. Kicking on his boosters to gain extra height and landing on the machine's head where he drove his fist through it and tearing out a cluster of wires.

The loader shutdown instantly and collapsed to the floor. The Slayer jumped off, but not before tearing one of its gun-arms off and throwing it at one of the remaining bots and knocking it back against a stack of crates.

Pulling out his gauss cannon, Mason activated the weapon's siege mode. Arcs of blue energy crackled around the cannon's barrel as it charged before unleashing a powerful blast that nearly vaporized one of the still standing WAR-loaders, plus critically damaging the one that had been behind it as well.

Attention now on the last loader as it managed to get back to its feet, the slayer drew his recently acquired Torgue revolver. Firing all six shots, two blowing off an arm each and the last blowing out the machine's optic, he slowly reloaded as the bot fell backwards onto he floor dead.

_**"There are no more Hyperion personnel or loaders nearby. The rest have more than likely fled."**_ reported VEGA.

"Shame." Mason muttered as he sent his revolver back to storage and began looking through the room. Finding most of the crates filled with Eridium, the powerful alien element refined into footlong bricks that cast a bright purple glow from within the confines.

"VEGA, can the Praetor suit store any of this?" asked the Slayer.

_**"One moment...The suit's 'quantum backpack' should be able to store the Eridium. However, considering that it is an alien element and there is no known data to work with, it is hard to calculate whether or not the Praetor suit will be affected by prolonged exposure to the unknown radiation it gives off."**_

Thinking over the AI's words, Mason figured that if people could store it in their digi-inventory via Echo, then his suit should be able to handle it without trouble.

Though he would have VEGA keep a sharp eye on the suit's systems. Just incase.

Stashing a crate's worth of Eridium into the Praetor suit's storage, 40 bars total, the slayer turned his attention to the rest of the room. Finding dozens of barrels containing slag or other deadly chemicals stacked together that wouldn't be around much longer when he was done.

Toward the back of the room, however. He found a heavily sealed storage locker tucked away in the corner that required high-level clearance to open. But a heavily armored fist smashing into the locking mechanism worked just as well.

Ripping the locker open, Mason found a large, belt-fed assault rifle resting on hooks like a divine offering. The body painted Hyperion yellow and baring the company logo on the stock, it had a holographic sight on the top rail with a hexagon shaped barre that emitted a soft, magenta glow.

Taking the weapon out of the locker, the Doomslayer looked it over with sharp eyes. Pulling back on the bolt handle before shouldering it and aiming down the sights at the far wall.

When he pulled the trigger, instead of regular bullets a series of glowing purple rounds left the barrel and punched into the steel down range and burned deeply into it.

It was an E-Tech weapon. Designed to fire Eridium laced rounds that were devastating to anyone or anything unlucky enough to be in the sights.

Nodding in approval of the new find, Mason stashed it with his other weapons and gave the storage room another once over before he got to work. Grabbing a canister of flammable chemicals, he ripped a small hole in it and began pouring it all over. Taking another, he made his way back out into the corridor while pouring a trail in his wake. Doing so for several meters until the canister was empty and tossing it aside.

_**"I estimate we will have roughly 30 seconds to escape before the chemicals within the storage room become volatile." **_said VEGA as the slayer drew his energy pistol.

"That's more than enough time." he said before shooting the end of the trail he had made. Igniting the chemical and causing flames to flow down the corridor and toward the storage room.

Mason, meanwhile, spun on his heel and ran. His armored frame thundering down the halls at breakneck speeds, intending on getting out of the facility before it became a crater.

**X**

Back on the ridge, Lilith and Tina kept their eyes peeled for any sign of Mason. They'd heard several more explosions and gunfire from inside the facility, but it had been quiet now for several minutes which had them wondering where he was and what was keeping him.

"Com'mon, Mase. Where are you?" the Siren muttered out loud.

"Lilith!"

The red head spun around, powers flaring until she saw Roland jogging up the path along with Mordecai, Brick and a large squad of Crimson Raiders following him.

"Roland, little late for the party." replied Lilith as her friends soon joined her.

The CR commander looked from her to the facility, seeing smoke coming from the main building and bodies of both loaders and Hyperion soldiers scattered everywhere. "What happened here?"

"Nice to see you again too." the Siren said with an eye roll. Causing Roland to look sheepish.

"Good to see you still in one piece, Lils." said Mordecai, Bloodwing trilling from his shoulder in agreement.

Brick looked down to see the little girl who was standing beside the Siren. "Whose the little one? You adopting now?" he asked her playfully.

"This is Tina. Mason saved her from this place." said Lilith.

"The guy you've been traveling with?" asked Roland, looking around for any sign of said individual. "Where is he?"

Before she could reply, the whole area was rocked by a massive explosion. Everyone looked toward the facility, or more precisely, what was left of it as black and purple smoke rose up where over half the place was now nothing more than flaming wreckage.

"What the hell?!" Mordecai shouted. Everyone else thinking roughly the same until they saw someone stepping out of the remains completely unscathed.

Standing almost as tall as Brick in dark-green power armor that had large blood splatters all over it, a type of shotgun resting on his shoulder as he walked out into the open without a care in the world.

"He's back!" Tina exclaimed happily.

Lilith smiled, a small sense of relief seeing Mason in one piece as Roland came up beside her.

"Is that...?"

"That's him." replied the Siren.

**X**

On the Helios station, Handsome Jack had been watching the events of what had happened at the slag experiment facility in real time. Looking on as his employees and loaders were torn apart in seemingly no time at all. The sheer amount of bloodshed and carnage was beyond simple overkill.

The armored intruder completely slaughtered them without a single ounce of remorse.

Not even a squad of WAR-loaders could stop him and were dismantled as quickly as everything that came before them.

Gritting his teeth in fury, the CEO of Hyperion watched as the bastard looted his Eridium stash and took one of the prototype E-Tech weapons they had been testing on site. Only to then light the place on fire. An explosion a few seconds later cutting all security footage telling him what became of the facility.

"...Angel?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

_**"Yes, Jack?"**_

"Launch orbital drop pods K-7 through K-12. I want him dead and I want him dead NOW!"

Taken aback, knowing the exact contents of said pods, Angel did as instructed and sent the designated payloads to where the experiment site had once been. Hoping that this unknown man could survive what was coming his way.

**X**

Mason had made it halfway back to the ridge when he heard it. A series of thunderous booms in the sky that drew his gaze upward to see a half dozen fireballs being launched from Helios station and heading straight toward him.

"VEGA?" asked the slayer.

_**"It is not an ordinance barrage. I'm detecting multiple loader IFFs coming from each projectile. I recommend preparing weapons." **_

Wracking his combat shotgun, Mason watched the orbital drops hit the ground. WAR and Badass loaders unfolding from the craters and began to advance on him. One final drop, this one bigger than the rest, struck the ground with more force, the loader that rose up from the impact point was the largest one seen thus far.

Towering over the other loaders at over 30 feet with six large gun-arms that all locked onto the Doomslayer the moment it came online.

**"BY ORDER OF HANDSOME JACK. YOU ARE SLATED FOR TERMINATION."** the super-badass loader boomed. All of the other machines trained their weapons on him as well.

**X**

"Oh fuck..." one of the Crimson Raiders muttered, weapon shaking in his hands as they all looked upon the small battalion of powerful loaders Jack had just shot down from Helios. All of them lead by the only rarely seen SB-Loader.

"He's gonna need some serious backup." said Roland, preparing his own weapon while the rest of the former Vault Hunters got ready to jump in.

_**"I would highly advise against that."**_ a voice suddenly spoke from their echos at the same time.

Roland snatched up his, "Who the hell is this?" he demanded.

_**"Apologies, I did not mean to alarm you. I am VEGA, an artificial intelligence currently residing in Mason's armor."**_

"An AI?" said Lilith in disbelief, not even realizing that Mason had such a thing with him this whole time.

"And why exactly do you not want us to help him then?" asked Mordecai.

_**"Mason has endured far worse odds than what he faces currently, and achieved victory. Further more, you would only be in harms way."**_ said VEGA. Down on the ground, the slayer's shotgun disappeared and was replaced with a massive weapon that looked more like a futuristic cannon. Arcs of green energy sparked along the weapons frame with a high-pitched whine as it began to power up.

_**"I believe you should all brace yourselves."**_

"Why would we-" Brick was cut off when the weapon in Mason's hands fired. A massive ball of green energy launched from the barrel with bolts of electricity shooting out in all directions. Any loaders that were in its path were instantly vaporized as it shot through the air toward the SB-Loader.

When the energy blast struck its intended target, a bright flash of green light was swiftly followed by an explosion not unlike the one that destroyed the facility shoot the ground. Debris flying through the air as a mushroom cloud rose up into the air.

The Crimson Raiders had fought to stay upright from the explosion, a couple of the resistance fighters having been knocked to the ground were getting back to their feet. All of them baring witness to the complete destruction of the loaders.

"...He...He fired one shot..." Brick said in utter disbelieve as the smoke cleared to reveal to melted, smoldering frames of the Hyperion robots. The Super Badass loader was nothing more than a blackened scorch mark on the ground, an almost glassy sheen left in its wake with chunks of its frame scattered around.

Mason hefted the massive weapon, resting the barrel of it on his shoulder before he made his way toward the ridge.

"Lilith...who the hell is this guy?" asked Roland, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

The Siren, however, was speechless. Little Tina at her side with stars in her eyes at the explosion she had just seen.

Who the hell was Mason Riley?

**A/N: You will all learn soon enough.**

**This chapter wasn't as long as I originally hoped, but the next one will include Mason finally arriving to Sanctuary...and the revelations of who he is and where he had come from. **

**Hyperion and Jack were just sent one hell of a message. And things will only get worse for them the longer things go on. Things are gonna change on Pandora...and Jack has no idea what's coming his way.**

**Till next time folks**


	9. Slayers Testament

_**Previously:**_

**"I believe you should all brace yourselves."**

_"Why would we-" Brick was cut off when the weapon in Mason's hands fired. A massive ball of green energy launched from the barrel with bolts of electricity shooting out in all directions. Any loaders that were in its path were instantly vaporized as it shot through the air toward the SB-Loader._

_ When the energy blast struck its intended target, a bright flash of green light was swiftly followed by an explosion not unlike the one that destroyed the facility shook the ground. Debris flying through the air as a mushroom cloud rose upward._

_ The Crimson Raiders had fought to stay upright from the explosion, a couple of the resistance fighters having been knocked to the ground were getting back to their feet. All of them baring witness to the complete destruction of the loaders._

_ "...He...He fired one shot..." Brick said in utter disbelieve as the smoke cleared to reveal the melted, smoldering frames of the Hyperion robots. The Super Badass loader was nothing more than a blackened scorch mark on the ground, an almost glassy sheen left in its wake with chunks of its frame scattered around._

_ Mason hefted the massive weapon, resting the barrel of it on his shoulder before he made his way toward the ridge._

_ "Lilith...who the hell is this guy?" asked Roland, unable to believe what they had just witnessed._

_ The Siren, however, was speechless. Little Tina at her side with stars in her eyes at the explosion she had just seen. _

_ Who the hell was Mason Riley?_

**X**

With the arrival of Roland and the Crimson Raiders, the trip to Sanctuary had been cut down significantly through the use of various shortcuts that bypassed certain regions that only the Commander and the other former Vault Hunters knew about.

Once they were out of the Highlands, they cut through the Fridge and got their hands on new transportation once they reached Three Horns.

Throughout the remainder of the journey, there hadn't been much talking. More so, the resistance fighters kept their distance from their newest addition who hung close to the back with Tina and Lilith.

The little girl showing no hesitation around the slayer even after the utter devastation he had dealt to Hyperion single handedly. Although she seemed more excited as she asked about the big gun that blew the robot army to dust.

As for the Siren, despite witnessing Mason's prowess up close, she still trusted him a great deal even through her friends and allies were still on the fence. Though she noticed he had gained instant respect from Brick with how he handled Hyperion.

Roland had attempted to question the slayer, which translated to a minor interrogation. But Mason told him the same thing he had told the Siren. That he would tell them everything once they were back at Sanctuary.

Put off by the answer, the CR commander let it go for the time being as he led them all back to their destination.

Once they arrived at Sanctuary, being let through the gates and entering the town built on the old Dahl mining ship, the residents were curious about the rumors about the new arrival. Though when they saw the nearly seven foot tall armored warrior being led to the Crimson Raider's HQ with a nine year old little girl riding on his shoulder they were divided between wanting to know more, or preparing for a possible fight.

Mason looked around Sanctuary with a sense of deja vu. Unlike when he played the Borderlands series, the town was actually a lot bigger and there were a lot more people.

The shield dome that protected everyone shimmered high above as the pylons that powered it fed energy into the air. VEGA had already started collecting data from the things around them as they were led through the streets to the archive building that had been retrofitted to act as the resistance's headquarters.

Tina looked around from her high vantage point. Seeing so many people after being locked away in a Hyperion facility of a while made her more than a little nervous. As if sensing her discomfort, the slayer reached up and patted her knee gently, reminding her that he was there and nothing would happen to her.

Entering the HQ, Mason took a quick glance around the cluttered area that acted as a strange combination barracks/lab/laundry room just before a woman with short brunette hair with goggles on her forehead approached them.

"Roland! It's about time you've returned. I need to have a word with you in regards to the Eridium reports your little group has put together." the woman rambled off, disregarding just about everyone else in the room.

"Later, Tannis. We have a meeting that needs to be conducted upstairs." replied Roland with calm patience at the woman's eccentric nature.

Tannis blinked before looking up at Mason, "Hmm. Another bloody knuckled brute for the raiders I see." she blinked again as she looked over his armor with a calculating gaze. "Strange. This armor bares no sigils of any known manufacturing company." she knocked on the chest plate, "Seems harder than anything Hyperion could construct as well."

She looked higher, past the slayer's visor and focused on the red mark of the Night Sentinels on his helmet.

"Mason, this is Patricia Tannis. She's our leading expert on anything Eridian." Lilith cut in, not wanting the intelligent, yet very unstable, scientist to bother him too much. "She's also probably one of the smartest people on the planet."

"Please, Lilith. I'd have to loose half my IQ to just be considered 'smart'." Tannis replied, not taking her eyes off the sigil on Mason's armor. "Where is it you got this mark?" she asked the slayer, motioning to the catalyst of her attention.

Before Mason could answer, Roland cleared his throat. "Before he answers any of your questions. I need some of mine answered first." he motioned to the stairs and began to head up them.

Mason reached up and took hold of Tina, setting her down to walk beside him given the lower ceilings as they and the others followed the Commander. Tannis bringing up the rear after grabbing a pair of Echos.

Entering the war room, everyone surrounded the holotable in the middle that showed a map of Pandora. The slayer picked up his little charge and sat her down on the edge of the display. "Now that we're all here, I think it's time we had that talk." Roland stated with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Lilith was right, subtly isn't in your wheelhouse." Mason said, causing the Siren to smirk and Mordecai and Brick to chuckle while the Commander frowned at his friends and colleagues. "Regardless, a promise is a promise." he reached out and placed his palm over the holotable. The display flickered a moment before VEGA's avatar appeared hovering over the surface. "You good in there, VEGA?"

**"The archives and firewalls of Sanctuary's network have the bare minimum of security. Give me a moment."**

Around the room, all of the monitors and radio equipment flickered wildly for a few seconds before coming back online again.

"What did you just do?" Roland demanded, not liking the idea of a foreign program running through their base's systems.

**"I have applied stronger firewalls and security measures to Sanctuary's network and scrambled the Crimson Raiders' echo transmissions to not be detected by anyone other than those in this command post. Hyperion won't be able to find a backdoor into your systems now." **replied the AI.

"An artificial intelligence?" Tannis breathed with her mind spinning wildly. A catalogue of questions coming to mind.

"Gotta admit, that was impressive." said Mordecai.

Roland cleared his throat again, "Thanks for that, I guess. But we still need answers."

**"Of course, Commander." **said VEGA as Mason rolled his shoulders.

"First and foremost, I'm going to make it known that I am no threat to the Crimson Raiders. As for who I am...that's going to take a lot longer to explain. So bare with me here." the Slayer reached up and removed his helmet, setting it on the holotable beside VEGA's avatar. "My name, is Mason Riley. And neither I or VEGA are from this dimension."

A long silence filled the war room. Then Brick started laughing.

"That's a good one right there!" he exclaimed while still laughing, Mordecai soon joining him. Though the mirth didn't last long when the slayer's red-glowing eyes locked onto them with a stone-faced expression.

"Wait...you're being serious?" asked the hunter baffled.

"_Very_." Mason said before turning to VEGA. "I think they're going to need an in depth background before we get into how we got here."

For the next hour, the AI explained the creation of the Union Aerospace Corporation and the advancements it made to humanity and the betterment of Earth. Bringing up dozens of files and video logs of what the company had done which peaked the attention of the former Vault Hunters. This continued into how after many years, an energy crisis threatened to cripple the planet and all those that lived on it.

Desperate for a solution, Doctor Samuel Hayden, CEO of the UAC, and his science team had found a new energy source that could end the crisis indefinitely while at the same time opening an entirely new field of study.

"You...You can't be serious..." Lilith said in disbelief when they were told exactly _where_ this new energy had come from.

Mason nodded to VEGA who brought up a large holoscreen that showed a recon team going through a portal...and finding themselves in a nightmare beyond comprehension.

A world of fire, infinite abysses, rivers of blood, the air filled with the screams of damned souls...and beasts that made any creatures on Pandora look domesticated.

The only sound in the room was the beer bottle in Mordecai's hand shattering on the floor when it fell from his limp grasp as the group watched footage of Imps tearing a scientist to shreds, a Hellknight ripping a soldier in half and a Cacodemon eating another alive.

Mason had covered Tina's eyes to keep her from seeing the carnage that he had become used to long ago while the adults got a full view.

Roland leaned forward on the table, just as much in shock as the others as he watched the footage unblinking. "...Hell...Hell is real..." he muttered, not wanting to believe it.

**"I'm afraid things only get worse from here."** said VEGA as more information was produced. Files depicting experiments conducted on the new energy designated as Argent given where it was discovered, and the creatures that had been captured from the many jaunts through the dimension from where they came.

As a scientist, Tannis could understand a lot of what was being shown. Taking down a catalogue of notes to review later. But in the back of her borderline madness driven mind, she couldn't help but see what the UAC was doing as a proverbial pandora's box.

"Those sick fucks weaponized those things?!" Lilith shouted, watching the creation of a Revenant through video files taken from the experiments.

**"Dr. Hayden and various other members of his inner circle saw the benefits of military applications through use of the demons. Their resilience and strength were seen as a boon to help defend humanity."** said VEGA.

"Yeah, cause that always turns out well in the end." Mordecai muttered, watching a separate video of cannon arms being applied to a Mancubus.

**"You are correct in that assumption. Dr. Hayden realized too late of Hell's influence. One of his most trusted, Olivia Pierce, had become indoctrinated by the demons with promises of power and knowledge in exchange for her help in releasing them. With the aid of her own staff that had been equally persuaded, they unleashed an enormous wave of energy from within her personal labs which claimed the lives of 61,337 of the personnel that operated within the Mars facility. 64% of which had been turned into undead creatures classified as Possessed."** The AI explained while bringing up images of the zombified staff and soldiers.

Roland looked across the table at the slayer. "This...This is a pretty big thing. Not going to sugar coat it. But where do you come in in all of this?"

Mason brought his attention back to his AI partner. "VEGA, bring it up."

**"Of course."** a new video was revealed, this one showing Samuel Hayden and a team of elite soldiers traversing Hell to a newly discovered location. A journey that claimed the lives of several until they came across a type of temple that had been heavily guarded and covered in demonic runes.

And at the center of this temple was an altar where a stone sarcophagus was set.

The Vault Hunters watched as the discovery was brought back to the UAC facility on Mars and placed in a lab to be examined. Not long after that, the 'Hell Wave' had been unleashed by Pierce which prompted Hayden to act. Footage of the lab came up and showed several robotic arms opening the sarcophagus to reveal a muscular, scarred, and very naked Mason chained to the interior.

Lilith and Tannis blushed, the latter fighting back throwing up as they watched the slayer break his chains and slaughter the possessed in the room before acquiring his suit, which had been stored in the adjacent room in a similar state as he had been.

From that point, the group bore witness to the slayer waging a one man war against Hell's legion on Mars through the visor of the Praetor suit. Creatures that they had seen killing average men falling before him as he literally tore them apart in addition to shooting them with an impressive arsenal that he had been collecting along the way. One of said weapons being a chainsaw which had been used a great deal, much to the amusement of the resident berserker.

Tina watched the footage wide eyed, despite Mason's best attempts to keep her from doing so, and saw man that had saved her killing horrifying monsters left and right. Instead of fear and disgust, the little girl grinned with excitement and even started cheering when she saw Mason take down even larger opponents.

The adults in the room saw this and wondered if she was okay on a mental level after what happened with Hyperion. Or if this was naturally her.

Things progressed from there, meeting Hayden and VEGA for the first time, stopping the meltdown of the foundry which would have leveled most of the facility, encountering Olivia Pierce who was dead-set on opening a portal to Hell to unleash their armies.

The former Vault Hunters watched as the deranged woman actually succeeded in the end through the use of the Argent tower and an accumulator that she set to go critical. The blast that came with the opening of the portal sending Mason to Hell as well.

"Shit man, back to where it started." commented Mordecai.

"Something still isn't making sense." said Lilith as she turned to Mason. "Why you? Why did these things have you sealed in that box?"

The slayer paused the footage before having VEGA explain;

**"When the UAC were mapping out the various regions of Hell, they came across a series of strange tombes. Each one possessing a codex that spoke the legend that was said to have struck fear into the hearts of the demons."** said the AI.

"What legend?" asked Tannis, on the edge of her non-existent seat.

VEGA brought up the image of an odd looking statue that had an opening with teeth-like protrusions coming out the sides with the Night Sentinels' symbol in the center glowing green. A moment later, a deep, demonic voice began speaking through the speakers around the room;

_**In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doomslayer.**_

_**Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remained steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before.**_

_**And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the Seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doomslayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.**_

_**The age of his reckoning was uncounted. The scribes carved his name deep in the tablets of Hell across eons, and each battle etched terror in the hearts of the demons. They knew he would come, as he always had, as he always will, to feast on the blood of the wicked. For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.**_

_**None could stand before the horde but the Doomslayer. Despair spread before him like a plague, striking fear into the shadow-dwellers, driving them to deeper and darker pits. But from the depths of the abyss rose The Great One, a champion mightier than all who had come before. The Titan, of immeasurable power and ferocity. He strode upon the plain and faced the Doomslayer, and a mighty battle was fought on the desolate plains. The Titan fought with the fury of the countless that had fallen at the Doomslayer's hand, but there fell the Titan, and in his defeat the shadow horde were routed.**_

_**And in his terrible rancor between worlds and through time, the Hell Walker found the wretch who shall not be named, but in his heresy was loyal to his evil cause. The wretch adorned the Doomslayer in a mighty armor, wrought in the forges of Hell, impenetrable and unyielding. With sword and shield of adamantine strength, the Doomslayer set to banishing all that were left unbroken by his savagery to the void. **_

_**Yet as the mighty Titan fell and dread engulfed the armies of Doom, the demon priests of the Blood Temples laid a trap to capture this scourge of Hell. Insatiable, even by the vanquishing of the Great One, the Hell Walker sought prey in the tombs of the Blood Keep. And blinded by his fervor, the lure drew him in. The priests brought down the temple upon the Doomslayer, and in his defeat entombed him in the cursed sarcophagus. The mark of the Doomslayer was burned upon his crypt, a warning to all of Hell that the terror within must never be freed. **_

_**There he lies still, and ever more, in silent suffering.**_

As the last of the words drifted away, not a word was spoken. What could be said? Despite not wanting to believe what they had just heard...it was hard not to given what they had learned thus far.

All eyes were drawn to the slayer who was looking down at his right hand, once again lost in a sea of memories that felt like his own but at the same time not. The testaments bringing them to the forefront of his mind as he recalled each event as they were spoken.

"There are things out there, things beyond your comprehension. Most of which exist only in nightmares." the slayer spoke grimly. "There aren't many explanations for them. They simply _are_."

Tannis swallowed thickly, "The scriptures said _eons_...how old are you?"

Mason half-smirked, "I don't know." he said with utter honesty.

**"UAC scientists estimated the carbon-date of the sarcophagus as several millennia. In theory, Mason is MUCH older than that. He may well be the oldest being on this planet." **said VEGA.

"...How?" Mason looked up at Roland who remained in a state of shock. "How is it possible?"

The slayer shrugged, "Time flows differently in Hell. Infact, it stands still. A never ending world of chaos and torment."

"Shit." Brick said, summing it up perfectly. "The fuckers had to drop a damn mountain on you to take you out? You gotta be one hell of a badass."

Mason chuckled at the accidental pun, "So I've been told."

"Why seal you away though?" asked Lilith. "If you were such a threat, why not try to finish you off?"

"They feared that my soul would continue to roam Hell after death and bring them to extinction in retaliation." the slayer answered, "That's how much they feared me. So they kept me alive and locked me away with the hope I wouldn't be released."

Roland removed his hat and ran a hand over his head several times, "We should save anymore questions until the end. VEGA, can you continue the footage?"

The AI complied and continued where they had left off. This only cemented the legend they had just learned as they watched Mason make several trips from Mars to Hell and back. His enemies getting bigger, fiercer, and more numerous with each conflict he faced. But none survived by the time he was finished.

The fights against the Cyberdemon and the Hell Guardians really had the former Vault Hunters on edge. But they too fell before the slayer in his crusade to end the invasion. Brick grinned from ear to ear when the upgraded Baalgar demon was beheaded with its own severed horn at the end of the conflict.

Every event was laid out before them, including VEGA's sacrifice and shutting down the Well and sealing the portal indefinitely, leading to the final confrontation with Pierce who had been used as a sacrifice to summon the creature VEGA had dubbed the 'Spider-Mastermind'.

Which, in the end, had its head blown almost completely in half with the BFG-9000 before Mason was brought back to Mars via the tether system. Where Hayden showed his true colors;

_"You see, I've watched you work, come to understand your motivation. You think the only way is to kill them all, leave nothing behind, and you may be right. But we can't just shut it all down. Without Argent Energy it will be worse."_

_ The man/machine's words shocked him, "Are you fucking serious?! Look around you! Has any of this bullshit been worth it?! All the death, destruction and chaos, and you still want to keep up with it?!"_

_ "I don't expect you to understand, or agree." said the doctor. He snapped out his hand, the Crucible was suddenly yanked from Mason's belt and into his awaiting palm. "But with this, we can continue our work." _

"That fucking piece of slag shit!" Lilith shouted, her powers flaring around her in her rage. The others sharing her thoughts at the man's betrayal.

_ "You sonovabitch!" Mason roared as he lunged for the cyborg. Inches away from grabbing the doctor by the neck when a pair of argent pilons came online and fired energy tethers that ensnared his arms and kept him in place._

_ Hayden shook his head, "I am not the villain here, Doomslayer. I do what I do because there is no other choice. _

**"Re-routing tether coordinates...Complete." **_the facility's voice suddenly chimed. _

_ "Our time is up." said the doctor as he looked at Mason's restrained form. "I can't kill you...but I won't have you standing in our way." he snapped his arm that was holding the Crucible, the artifact's top end opening up and projecting a red energy blade covered in hellion script with a pickaxe-like tip. "Until we see each other again..."_

_ The teleportation unit started firing, energy arcing along his form again. But Mason paid it no mind. He couldn't let this happen, couldn't let Hayden get away with this. The invasion would happen all over again if he didn't do something!_

_ As the argent energy surge got stronger, Hayden turned and prepared to head back where he had come from...that's when Mason struck._

_ Using every bit of strength gifted by the suit, his own body and the rage coursing through his veins, he kicked on his thrusters and surged forward. The doctor had a moment to register the movement when the armored human grabbed the arm that was holding the artifact. The metal crunching under his grasp as he was pulled back toward the activating portal._

_ The arm going along with him as it gave way and was ripped from Hayden's body._

_ "NO!" the Hayden shouted and attempted to grab his severed limb, missing it by inches as Mason was pulled into the portal and disappeared in a flash of light._

"The next thing I know, I'm in some cave at the edge of the Arid Badlands." said Mason when the footage ended.

"Fuck amigo." Mordecai said while shaking his head. "I don't think I'm going to tell anyone to go to Hell anymore...unless it's Jack."

Tannis turned off the echo she had recording the presentation before bringing her full attention to the slayer. "This 'Crucible'. Do you still possess it?"

Mason brought a hand to his side, reaching into his suit's quantum pack and taking out the weapon in question. The eyes of the skull-hilt glowing bright red from all the energy it had absorbed from the Wraiths back in the remnants of Argent D'Nur.

With a flick of the wrist, the argent blade snapped into existence. Bathing the war room in a red glow and causing everyone to step back.

"That," Brick began while pointing at the sword. "Is a creepy-ass weapon...but, it looks so AWESOME!"

Tina reached out to touch it, but Mason quickly deactivated the blade and put it away, causing her to pout. "Can I atleast see the big gun you used to blow up the robots?" she asked with puppy eyes before yawning loudly.

"Maybe another time. I think a certain someone should get a good nights sleep first." said the slayer, looking out the window and seeing the sun had already begun its descent.

The little girl shook her head while rubbing her eyes, "Don' wanna..." she mumbled while trying to fight off the hands of sleep. Mason scooped the girl up and looked back toward Roland.

"Anywhere I can leave this little one?"

"The barracks are across the hall. She should be safe and comfortable there." the Commander replied.

Nodding, the slayer left the war room while Tina had already began to nod off in his arms.

Everyone watched him leave before turning back to one another. "Thoughts?" asked Roland.

"That guy is a badass on a whole nother level." said Mordecai. "He fought in Hell, Rol. _HELL_! I mean, fuck! They all fear him there amigo! If what we saw is what he does to demons...think about what would happen if he went after Jack and Hyperion?"

Brick chuckled, "Sounds like a pretty good time to me! Wouldn't mind competing to see who kills the most out there." he said while slamming his fists together.

Roland looked across the table at Lilith, who was looking down at Mason's helmet and running her fingers over the tinted visor. "Lil? You were with him the longest. What's your take on this?"

The Siren was quiet for a moment or two, "He saved my life. And so far the only things he's killed are bandits and Hyperion assholes. Despite where he came from and what he faced, I _know_ we can trust him."

"I agree with Lilith." said Tannis. "Mason, or Doomslayer, whatever he wants to be called, is a juggernaut that rips his enemies to shreds. That alone could help the Crimson Raiders. But the knowledge he and his AI companion could be a boon all on its own. Proof of other dimensions, similar to our own but very different. This changes everything!"

"Did you not see what the rest of us did?" asked Mordecai. "Dimension hopping sounds good and all, but not when you go through a place that's filled with monsters and death."

"Yet you and the others survived the Vault." the scientist fired back smugly.

Despite her monologue about all the new science involved, Roland knew Tannis was right about one thing. Mason was a damn powerhouse that had been fighting longer than any of them have been alive combined, against things worse than anything Pandora or Jack could cook up. And with the state of the Crimson Raiders at the moment, they could use something, or in this case some_one_, to give them the edge they need to strike back.

His mind finally made up, the Commander spoke with the others while they waited for the slayer to return.

**X**

**A/N: Good to be back in the swing of things. And with more videos and information being released about Doom Eternal every week, its starting to look more and more like one of the best games of the year already!**

**I know Mason revealing his and VEGA's origins so soon is off putting to some, but that and a lot more will be answered next time. I also have a bag full of surprises in store later down the road to keep things even more interesting, so don't go too far.**

**Keep sending your love and support, and I'll update as soon as possible! Till next time!**


	10. Welcome to the Crimson Raiders

Entering the barracks Roland had pointed him to, Mason approached the closest bed and laid Tina down. "Sorry you had to see all that." he said while tucking her under the blankets.

Tina grinned widely, "You were so cool though! You kill monsters and are super strong!" she yawned, her eyes drooping. "You're like a super hero."

Mason smiled, "Thanks, kiddo. Get some sleep, okay?"

"W-Will you still be here?" the little girl asked, sounding tired and anxious at the same time.

The slayer smiled again as he knelt beside the bed. "I'm not going anywhere, Tina. I promise." he spoke softly while running his fingers carefully through her hair. Tina smiled as she snuggled into the blankets, her eyes closing a moment later as she fell asleep.

Staying a couple minutes longer to make sure the girl was comfortable, Mason stood up and made his way back to the war room where the others had been waiting for him. Tannis talking adamantly with VEGA, asking an array of questions that the AI was more than happy to answer.

"Fascinating. You needed that much power to maintain your connection to the Mars facility?" asked the scientist in regards to VEGA's functions from before.

**"That is correct. The amount of energy required to power my many functions was immense and required a complex cooling system to keep from overheating. When the cooling units were shut down and my core was set to critical, the resulting meltdown was powerful enough to tear a hole from our world to the demonic realm."** VEGA answered

Tannis nodded, "A worthy sacrifice. It was a good thing Mason had enough intelligence to create a backup. Losing such an intellectual source would be a travesty."

"I consider it me helping a friend." Mason said, making himself known as he approached the holotable. "VEGA aided me through my mission to stop Hell's invasion. I couldn't let him 'die' like that if I could help it."

**"A sentiment I greatly appreciate, Mason." **said VEGA. Everyone who heard the AI could tell that if he could show emotion, he would have in that moment.

"Tina comfortable?" asked Lilith.

The slayer nodded, "Out like a light. She's been through a lot."

"I can only imagine." said Roland, "It was a brave thing you did, saving her. At least someone made it out of that place alive."

Brick chuckled, "Hyperion sure didn't." Mordecai grinned in agreement.

Mason crossed his arms over his chest, "Back to what we were talking about. Now you all know my story. Question now is where we go from here?"

Roland nodded, "I won't lie to you, everything you showed us...it's still pretty damn hard to grasp. If you and VEGA hadn't had the evidence to back it up, none of us would believe it. Even after everything we ourselves have been through."

The Commander sighed as he looked down at the table before them, the map of Pandora on display while VEGA's AI hovered above the surface by the slayer. "You obviously know what's been going on here on Pandora. What Hyperion has done and what our resistance has been doing as well."

"VEGA's sliced into plenty of transmissions since we arrived. We know enough." Mason said with a sharp edge in his tone. "Jack is worse than Hayden. At least that mechanical bastard tried to help humanity in the beginning before shit fell apart. Jack is just doing this for his own fucking amusement. Far as I'm concerned, that overcompensating fucker is just another monster to be killed." the slayer finished the statement cracking his knuckles loudly.

The former Vault Hunters remembered crystal clear what those hands had done to Hell's legion. They almost pitied the Hyperion CEO...almost.

"Then I don't need to explain more than what you already know." Roland continued, "We're fighting an uphill battle. Jack's got the resources and the firepower, we've lost a lot of people in the last couple of years."

"Some of them good friends." added Lilith solumnly.

"Bottom line...we need all the help we can get." the Commander pressed on. "I know this may not be up to par with what you usually fight. But someone of your skill set would give us the edge we need to take the fight to Jack."

"Not to mention your AI buddy could give us a pretty big advantage as well." Mordecai threw in. "The less that SOB knows about what we're up to, the better."

Mason thought to himself. He already knew the answer he was going to give, but something else on his mind needed to be considered as well. Though how it would affect things to come was completely unknown.

But if he were honest, things had already changed a great deal as it was thanks to his interference. Whatever happened next, he would handle it head on like he has since this all started.

"Things are far worse than you think." he said, catching the attention of the group. "It's no secret that Jack is looking for another Vault similar to the one you all opened years ago. But what you don't know is what it contains."

"Wait. Are you telling us that you _know_ what's in the Vault Jack's after?!" Roland exclaimed, now VERY invested.

The slayer nodded, "VEGA and I took out a Hyperion patrol about a week ago and hacked into one of their classified channels. The Vault he's looking for? It's not a weapons cache or some alien power source. It's a living being. An ancient Eridian Warrior with the power to take out all life on Pandora."

This news received an array of responses from the group. Mordecai completely stopped drinking, Brick clenched his fists, Lilith grit her teeth and Roland looked grim. Tannis didn't show much emotion, but it was obvious that she was thinking hard on what they had learned.

"Do you or VEGA have any other information? Is there any hint on if he's found it or not?" asked Roland seriously.

"Thankfully he hasn't yet. But we do know that whoever opens the Vault controls the Warrior. The key he has in his possession will allow him to do so." said Mason.

"But that's impossible!" Tannis shouted, "The Vault key takes 200 years to charge between openings. I researched this in excruciating detail!"

**"Eridium is the answer."** said VEGA, bringing up an image of the Vault key with purple energy flowing into it. **"The alien element somehow charges the Vault key. Though how this process is done is still unknown. Jack must possess a form of catalyst that turns the Eridium into an energy form to charge the key."**

"That's why he's mining every speck of the stuff." said Mason. "The more Eridium he has, the faster he charges the key."

Roland put a hand to his chin in thought, "We can't let that happen. If this intel is legit, then we have two options available. We either shut down his supply of Eridium-"

"Which is impossible with how much sprouted up after we opened the first Vault." Lilith threw in.

"Or, we get the key, and control the Warrior ourselves." the Commander finished his statement.

**"A sound plan. But without the catalyst needed to charge the key with Eridium, we would simply be ensuring that Hyperion is unable to open the Vault." **said VEGA.

"Either way, Jack loses." said the slayer. "We could also destroy the key. Keep it from being used ever again."

"You can't be serious!" Tannis said aghast. "The Vault key is an invaluable Eridian artifact! You can't just destroy it like some kind of barbarian!"

Glowing red eyes suddenly locked with startled blue, "That's funny. Because I'm pretty sure Samuel Hayden said something similar when I trashed the argent filters to stop the Hell portal from opening on Mars." Tannis took an involuntary step back from the slayer's sharp tone. "Ancient artifact it may be. But if everything else fails, and there's a chance to stop Hyperion from using it to kill everyone and everything, it's better off in no one's hands."

"Agreed." said Roland. "Though we'll keep that idea as a last resort. No point in throwing away a potential resource if we need it. The real question is, where is it being hidden?"

**"I have installed various back-door programs in Hyperion's network since Mason and I arrived here on Pandora."** VEGA answered, **"I will continue to monitor these sub-routines incase something pertaining to the Vault key comes up."**

"Thanks, VEGA." said the Commander. "Now that we know what Jack's endgame is, we can find a way to put a stop to it. In the meantime," Roland held out his hand to Mason. "Welcome to the Crimson Raiders, Doomslayer."

The slayer smirked and shook the offered hand, "Glad to be here. Hate to change important subjects after all that's been laid out. But it's been way, _way_, too long since I've had a good drink."

"I got ya covered, amigo." said Mordecai, clapping Mason on his armored shoulder before leading him out of the war room. The slayer scooping his helmet off the table as he left.

Tannis gathered her echos and disappeared back downstairs to her lab and Brick said something about catching a nap and headed out as well, leaving Lilith and Roland alone.

The Siren saw the hardened look on her friend's face as he stared at the far wall, "What's on your mind? You got that overthinking look again."

Roland sighed, "Its just something Mason and VEGA told us earlier. About Hell, and what it does to other worlds."

Lilith shivered when she remembered that particular part of their little show and tell. It was bad enough Hell was real and filled with countless horrors beyond imagination. But to know that their dimension literally _absorbs_ other worlds into their own made that nightmare even scarier.

"Yeah...what about it?" she asked.

"Mason and VEGA came here because Samuel Hayden sent them through that tether system. And from what we heard and saw, Hell got a pretty good taste of the tech those UAC brainiacs were cooking up and managed to use it for themselves..." Roland trailed off causing the Siren to understand.

"You think those things will try to follow Mason here, to Pandora?"

The resistance leader leaned on the holotable. "After what we just learned, anything's possible. Jack, Hyperion, bandits and whatever else Pandora can throw at us is one thing...but demons from Hell? I can't help but think we would be in serious trouble."

Lilith nodded, agreeing with him on that one. "Maybe...but we got one thing we know they can't handle." Roland looked up to see her grinning, "We got the guy that makes them shit themselves."

**X**

Moxxi's bar was the only place in Sanctuary for anyone living there to unwind. Infact, it was pretty much the only bar within 50 miles in any direction, but that wasn't important to the patrons.

That right belonged to the good booze, violent atmosphere...and the voluptuous beauty running the place.

Mason looked around the saloon-like interior with brief nostalgia as he followed Mordecai. Music from the old speakers thumping through the air while various people ranging from citizens to resistance fighters were milling about and having a good time.

Along the way, the slayer got more than a few stares that followed him. Paying them no attention as he sat at the bar with the hunter. Bloodwing spreading her wings and flying up to a support beam above them where she perched herself.

A moment later, the one and only Mad Moxxi came out from a backroom with a small crate in her arms. Her figure squeezed into her signature corset and mini skirt that accented every curve she possessed, a pair of heeled thigh-high boots and a tiny hat perched atop her styled hair.

"Ah, Mordecai. Here to drain by backstock of Rakk ale again?" Moxxi asked with playful teasing as she set the crate on the counter. It was here she noticed the one sitting beside her ex, "My, my, aren't you a big one. Got a name, sugah?"

Mason reached up and removed his helmet, setting it on the bar beside him. "Mason Riley. You must be the one and only Mad Moxxi. Heard a lot of things about you."

"Really now?" she leaned on the bar with her elbow, chin resting on the palm of her hand with her breasts on proud display. "Good or bad?"

"Bit of both, honestly. But I have a feeling the rumors won't do you justice." replied the slayer.

Moxxi smiled with a slight clint in her eyes, "Aren't you a charmer. What can I get for you, sugah?"

"I'll get whatever Mordecai is getting. I'm still new in town." said Mason.

"Mase here is the newest member of the Raiders. Saved Lilith and helped us take down one of Jack's fucked up labs." said the hunter.

Moxxi smiled knowingly as she got their drinks, "Ah, so _your_ the so called 'Juggernaut' a few of my regulars were talking about. Word is you wiped out a battalion of Jack's little tinmen, plus a Super-Badass, on your own."

"What can I say, I'm the best at what I do." Mason said before taking a long drink from the bottle of Rakk ale that had been set infront of him. Mordecai snorted into his own bottle while taking a drink as well.

Giving the slayer a long once over, Moxxi's lips curled into an appreciative smile. She liked what she saw, from his rugged and angular features with a handful of scars right down to the exotic red glowing eyes. And if he lugged around a suit of armor like that, it made her wonder what he had going under it.

"What brings a handsome devil like you to Pandora?" she asked as she started wiping the bar down. Her interest peaked with the new arrival.

"An unexpected pitstop. But compared to the last couple of places I was at it's actually like a vacation spot." said Mason with a casual shrug.

Moxxi raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Pandora? A vacation spot? What kind of hell did you come from to think that?"

Mordecai choked on his beer and coughed several times to clear his air ways while the slayer chuckled knowingly. "Lets just say that this place is nothing compared to the shit I've seen."

A hard tap on Mason's shoulder had him pause mid-drink. Looking back, he saw a bandit in old rusted armor that looked like components of other armor sets put together.

"That's my seat." he grunted with a sneer on his cracked lips.

The slayer regarded him for all of two seconds before turning back to his drink. "Hey! You hard a hearin'!" the bandit shouted, grabbing the shoulder plate of his suit. "Get the fuck outta here before I-"

Mason hand clamped down hard on the bastard's and before snapping his elbow backwards, braking the arm between elbow and shoulder causing the shattered bone to explode out of the skin.

The bandit screamed in pain, grabbing at his shattered arm before the slayer got a better hold of it and forced it backwards. The exposed end of the bone stabbing through his right eye into his brain.

A casual flick to the forehead had the now dead bandit toppling over to the floor while Mason turned back around and went back to his drink as if nothing happened. The other patrons in the bar who bore witness to the sudden, very violent death stared at his back for several moments before going back to what they were doing.

"Brutal." Mordecai commented, as he turned back to the bar as well. "Never seen a guy killed with his own arm before."

Moxxi motioned to the bouncer on duty that day who then came over and dragged the body out to be dumped outside Sanctuary's walls. "Not like he killed anyone important. That one was always late with his tab." she said while getting both men another drink.

The slayer reached into one of the pouches on the Praetor suit's belt and pulled out a small wad of money and set it on the bar. "I think that should cover the drinks, clean up and a tip for our badass bartender."

Taking the offering and slipping it into her ample cleavage, Moxxi blew a kiss at the new arrival. "You sure know how to treat a lady, sugah. Come on back anytime you feel the need of good _company_." she said seductively while trailing a finger along Mason's cheek. The barmaid then turned and went to tend to her other customers while swaying her hips in a way a blind man would have noticed.

"Looks like Moxxi's got her crosshairs on you, amigo." said Mordecai. "Better watch yourself."

Mason shrugged and started on his second beer, "Dangerous women are usually the most exciting."

**X**

After spending a couple hours familiarizing himself with Sanctuary and the various people who live there. Mason made his way back to the CR's headquarters after Mordecai went his own way with Bloodwing.

From there, the slayer grabbed a shower for the first time in what felt like forever. The water was cold, given how the plumbing was in the old building, but he could care less as the layers of dirt, grime, sweat and blood rolled off. When finished, he managed to find some clothes that fit. A sleeveless black shirt that was snug over his muscled upper half and a worn pair of digital camo fatigues.

It was strange, being outside the Praetor suit, but at the same time it was great to feel air on his skin again.

Leaving the bathroom, he almost ran into Lilith who was on her way to shower as well. "Whoa...so that's what you look like under all that metal." the Siren said while looking him up and down.

"Make all your dreams come true?" Mason teased back which had the red-head grinning and rolling her eyes.

"So how'd you like your little tour of Sanctuary?"

"Met Moxxi, gotta admit she's a bartender of a completely different caliber. Didn't mind when I killed one of her customers." the slayer said as though it were a casual thing.

Then again, given what he usually did, it was a casual thing.

"It's part of her charm, among other things." replied Lilith, having known the buxom barmaid for a few years now.

From the war room at the other end of the hall, Tannis appeared with her eyes glued to her echo on her way to her lab. "Mason, the little orphan you brought with you is thrashing in her sleep. I believe she is having a nightmare." she said as she walked past them.

Mason was on the move instantly, entering the barracks and finding Tina tossing and turning in her sleep. Loud whines and whimpers escaping with each movement, making her sound like a wounded animal.

"Tina? Tina, wake up! You're okay! It's only a dream!" the slayer said, shaking her as lightly as he could.

The little girl's eyes snapped open, pupils dilated in terror as she lashed out with her tiny hands. Mason took several hits to the face, but they may as well have been gusts of wind compared to the hits he'd taken before.

Taking the tiny fists in his hands, Mason brought Tina forward and hugged her to his chest as she continued to thrash for another couple of minutes before she started to calm down. The hands that had been hitting and scratching at him were now gripping his shirt tight enough to tear a couple of seams, her face buried in his chest as she sobbed loudly.

The slayer kept his hold on her firm and gentle, telling her everything was okay and that he was there.

"Th-They're g-gone." Tina whimpered, "M-Mommy...Daddy...I...I'm all alone..."

"No, you're not." Mason said, pulling back enough to look into her sad and broken eyes. "You're mom and dad will always be with you. And you'll never be alone, because I'm not going to leave you. I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. No matter what."

More tears fell from blue eyes before Tina burrowed her face back into the slayer's chest and started to cry again. Mason just held her, running a hand over her head and through her hair. Offering what comfort he could to the broken little girl.

From the doorway, Lilith watched the interaction with no shortage of amazement. It was hard to believe that someone who was capable to slaughtering the hordes of Hell with his bare hands was so compassionate and gentle to a little girl who had lost her family.

A smile graced the Siren's lips before she left the two alone. Mason was definitely something else, and if she were honest, she really wouldn't mind getting to know him a lot more now that he was part of the Raiders.

**X**

Within her secured bunker above Thousand Cuts, Angel was looking over stream after stream of data that crossed her vision with rapt attention.

With Jack raging and trashing his office after the sudden and unexpected defeat of his loader forces against the unknown, armored being. The young Siren took the moment to slip away back to her physical form where she began going over the data she had collected on her own.

Unknown to Jack, she had a hidden access to Sanctuary's servers and could access them when she needed to as a means to help the Crimson Raiders as best she could. Jack may have been her father by blood, but he was the farthest thing from it in terms of love and compassion. Even more so with how he was ultimately using her for Hyperion's cyber warfare and as a battery to charge the Vault key against her will.

Shaking away the darker thoughts, Angel continued to go through what she had learned. Knowing full well that the unknown man would be taken to Sanctuary by Roland and the others, she saw the opportunity to learn more about him.

Imagine her surprise when she suddenly found her connection to the Crimson Raider's HQ cut off. Focusing her powers, she managed to slip back into them without being detected by whatever had blocked her...it was here that she spent a couple hours learning the shocking truth about this new arrival.

She didn't want to believe it...trying to play off some of the information as insane rambling...then she saw the footage. First hand accounts of a terrifying realm beyond their own filled with monsters that she was sure Jack wouldn't be able to handle ever.

Then the young Siren heard the testaments. The ones that told of a powerful warrior that struck terror in the hearts of these monsters but was imprisoned in a cursed tomb until he was discovered by humanity in another dimension. Only to be used and discarded when he was no longer useful to them.

Angel felt saddened for him, and bitter anger against those who used him and sealed him away for a countless number of years.

But now he was here, on Pandora, fighting with the Crimson Raiders against Jack and Hyperion. If this was the case...then the resistance stood a stronger chance of stopping them.

And possibly freeing her from her own personal Hell. It was a hope that she grasped onto with everything she had...coupled with the pull she had been feeling that was directed toward him made her feel like things would get better soon.

Just as she was closing out all the data she collected and covering them in security Jack would never be able to access. A small message appeared among that she hadn't seen the first time given she was so distracted by what she had learned.

What was displayed left her in a state of shock;

_**Greetings. I am VEGA...**_

**X**

On Athenas, Maya walked through the quiet streets of the small town that had been her home for many years.

After finding out what the Order of the Storm had been doing behind her back, using her as some kind of attack dog to collect money for their little cult and to keep people in line, she liberated herself by taking out the head priest who had essentially raised her since she was young.

The blue-haired Siren still felt the rage building inside of her, her tattoos glowing ethereal blue and purple in time with her emotions.

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, Maya continued her path toward the small spaceport on the other side of the city. Intending on leaving this place behind her and to search for answers.

For the last week she had been having dreams. Ones depicting a desolate world under siege by unholy abominations that killed all in their path, and the warrior that stood against them and slaughtered them without mercy.

She also saw the same warrior approached by six women with glowing wings. How he protected them, and how they quelled his lust for battle.

Maya shook her head. There were so many questions that she needed answers to. About herself, about her Siren abilities...and about the unknown warrior that filled her dreams.

She needed to find out more...no matter what. Hoping the pull she had been feeling in her chest all this time would help lead the way for her

**X**

In another corner of the galaxy, in a darkened apartment in the slums of an unmanned city, a dark skinned woman with well defined muscles and long black hair was doing a set of pullups on a bar in her bedroom doorway.

The small amount of light coming through the window revealing her in nothing more than a purple sports bra and cargo pants. Sweat dripping down her arms, neck and back as she continued her workout.

The light also illuminating the mystical tattoos on her left side.

Ending her workout, Amara dropped down to the floor. Wiping sweat from her beautiful, scarred face before she turned her attention to the window and looked out into the night sky.

She too had been having the dreams, her thoughts plagued by an unknown warrior with a lust for battle that surpassed her own. Like the other Sirens, she was confused and intrigued by such images.

However, unlike the others, she was also turned on.

A warrior with that much lust for carnage and battle? It sounded like someone she wanted to find and get to know. And maybe see what he was capable of first hand. That was why she was leaving the following night.

She too was looking for answers, and wouldn't rest until she found them.

Grinning to herself, Amara went to grab a shower before hitting the sack. All the while feeling a soft pull in her chest that was trying to lead her somewhere far away.

**X**

On a planet thought to be nothing more than a myth. A young woman with short white hair was sitting on a rock looking up at the star filled sky with a hand to her chest. Wanting nothing more than to lead that planet and follow where this feeling was leading her.

She wanted to be free. To see the universe and blaze her own trails...but she was trapped here no matter how much she wanted to leave.

"Tyreen? Where are you?!" someone called out from a nearby cave.

The girl looked over her shoulder and scowled briefly. "Coming!" she shouted back before looking at the sky one last time with all the hope she had.

**X**

**A/N: Looks like Mason's fitting in well and leaving an impression already, and farther than just Pandora apparently.**

**I may or may not consider making this story into a small harem pairing, though I'm still on the fence about it. So if anyone has any input on it, be sure to let me know and it'll make the decision come to me that much quicker. And any other ideas anyone might want to add, be sure to let me know that as well. I'm open to new ideas all the time.**

**Things will start heating up with more ripping and tearing next time, so be ready everybody!**


	11. The Next Step

Waking up from a dreamless sleep for the first time in a long time, Mason took a brief moment to remember where he was and the events of the previous day.

Looking under his right arm, he found Tina curled into his side. Her tiny arms wrapped around him as best she could like he was a giant teddy bear, a content smile on her young face as she continued dreaming.

It took a while to get her to get back to sleep after her night terrors. But when she finally did she refused to let him go, leaving the slayer to accept his fate as he got comfortable and went to sleep as well for the night.

Sending a smile at his young charge, Mason carefully extracted himself from her grip and got out of bed. Ensuring she was still sound asleep before heading over to the locked trunk where he stored his Praetor suit. Assembling the Hell-forged steel armor over his current attire, minus the helmet that he held under his arm before making his way to the war room where everyone else was already gathered.

"Catch some good winks?" asked Lilith while she drank a cup of coffee.

"More or less, thankfully Tina didn't have anymore nightmares." replied Mason as he set his helmet down on the holotable. "She's probably going to be having those for a while."

Roland nodded, "At least she's safe now. In time, she might get better." shaking his head, the Commander cleared his throat before getting on the topic at hand. "That aside, I think it's time we start planning where we go from here."

"Our best bet would be to track down the Vault key." offered Tannis, even if she didn't like the idea of destroying the key, the idea of having it back in their possession was a must. "Whether Jack successfully manages to recharge it with Eridium or not, it's better off not in his megalomaniac grasp."

**"I agree with Doctor Tannis."** VEGA spoke up from his residence in the headquarters' systems. **"I would also recommend dealing significant blows to their resources here on Pandora. The less they have to continue their operations, the better it will be for the resistance. I have gathered and marked several key points of interest that may help in these endeavors." **

The map of Pandora before them zoomed out and a dozen different locations were marked. Roland looked over each location before focusing on one in particular. "What's this here?"

**"A heavily fortified structure in a region known as 'Thousand Cuts'."** replied the AI.

"That's no-man's land." said Mordecai. "Anyone who went out that way was never heard from again."

**"This location is protected by several layers of defenses that would be hard pressed to get past. In addition, the Helios station has a constant view of it to offer orbital bombardment and loader unit drops for added security."** VEGA explained.

"Whatever Jack has hidden there must be important to need that much to protect it." said Lilith. "Not even the new city he's trying to build is that defended."

Mason looked at the image of the structure they were talking about. His memory coming back to him about what exactly was hidden there.

Or, more or less, _who_ was being hidden there.

"Until we know more about it, trying to mount an assault on the place would be suicide." said the slayer. "We should take out the other locations. Gather intel."

"Agreed." said Roland as he looked over the map again, "There are a couple more places that we could formulate an attack on to give us an edge."

VEGA moved the map around until he centered on a structure in the Arid Badlands, near an abandoned town that had at one time been known as Fyrestone. **"This is another location of interest you may need to consider in the near future. It is the Hyperion Data Stockade. Most classified and high profile information is stored here. It is also where many of Hyperion's encrypted transmission channels pass through."**

"So anything and everything we would want to know about what Hyperion is up to, we could find there." said Lilith while leaning on the table to get a better look at the point of interest.

"What about the rest of the spots?" asked Mordecai.

**"Various Eridium mines, laboratories, and recon outposts. There also a few known space ports where troops and supplies are brought to Pandora's surface from the Helios station."** said the AI.

Mason looked over the map in thought, "I'm all for wrecking their side projects...but, we have to consider the long haul."

"Meaning?" asked Roland.

"The moment we start taking out their mines and other operations they'll bulk up the security of their more important sites." explained the slayer. He motioned to the Data Stockade. "If we can get VEGA into their main data cache, we can get access to any information we could possibly need on what Jack's up to, along with his progress in finding the Vault."

The Commander thought it over and nodded, "From a strategic point, it makes sense. The issue is we lack the resources to mount an assault on the stockade."

**"Perhaps a direct assault isn't the answer."** VEGA threw in. **"If you were to cause an attack on a smaller target, it would draw the attention of Handsome Jack and his forces long enough for a smaller team to infiltrate the Data Stockade."**

The plan sounded solid to the former Vault Hunters, "I like it as long as we can go in and smash some stuff." said Brick while cracking his knuckles.

"Looks like Brick's volunteered for the distraction." said Lilith, "But we still have a problem. Jack's not going to get all worked up if we attack a random base. How can we be sure we'll get his attention?"

"We'll give him something he wants." said Roland, standing to his full height. "I'll be part of the distraction as well, no way in hell he'd ignore the head of the Crimson Raiders being out in the open. And by the time he figures things out, it'll be too late."

"You sure about this, Rol?" asked Mordecai. "The second Jack finds out you're out there he'll send everything he can to capture or kill. The bastard could end up sending Wilhelm again."

The name alone made the Vault Hunters tense.

"That's why I'm going too." said Mason. "Jack obviously knows about me after what happened the other day. And with me there with Roland it'll make him focus more on what we're doing."

**"I would recommend Lilith to take the role of leader of the infiltration team." **offered VEGA. **"Her Siren abilities would allow a quick escape should something occur."**

"I'll tag along as well, offer sniper support." said Mordecai with Bloodwing trilling in agreement.

Roland nodded, "Then we're agreed. We'll start making preparations for the attack. The sooner we get our hands on that data the better. For now we should-"

_**"Commander! Can you hear me?!"**_ a voice suddenly burst through their echos with the sounds of gunfire in the background.

"Reiss? What's going on?" Roland said into his echo.

_**"We got Bloodshots at the gate trying to force their way in! We're holding out the best we can but they ain't stopping! We could use some backup out here!" **_

"Sit tight! Backups on its-" Roland was cut off when a green blur suddenly shot past him. Having heard the SOS, Mason had grabbed his helmet from the table and sprinted toward the balcony. Leaping over the railing and hitting the ground with a trembling impact that left a small crater in his wake.

From there, he was off like a massive armored bullet. Slamming his helmet into place as he charged past the various citizens of Sanctuary who all leapt out of his way. His heavy footfalls shaking the ground as he burned a trail straight out the city's entrance and toward the massive gate where the sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard.

Back on the balcony of the CR HQ, the former Vault hunters watched the slayer with wide eyed expressions.

"...fuck." Mordecai said, in utter shock at how fast Mason had moved.

Roland raised his echo back to his mouth, "Reiss, you got backup enroute...you and the others may want to find cover though."

**X**

Reiss looked down at his echo in confusion after he had finished helping a wounded comrade behind cover. On the other side of the gate, half a dozen technicals baring the sigils and paint jobs of the Bloodshot bandit clan were lobbing exploding barrels and firing massive saw blades, attempting to break down the barrier.

He and ten others had just returned from a scouting mission when the bandits came running, they barely made it inside after losing two of their own and sealed the gate when things started getting worse.

Just as he was about to ask Roland what he had ment, he saw something approaching from the city. At first he thought it was a vehicle...until it got closer and he saw that instead it was a lone man in heavy power armor...charging toward them at the speed he believed only a runner could accomplish.

"What the fu-" he couldn't finish as the unknown man ran past him toward the gate, and with agility that was unbelievable considering his suit, actually _leaped_ over it.

The men firing on the Bloodshots from the towers on either side of the gate could only watch in awe as their backup cleared the barricade easily and landed on the hood of the lead technical with earth-splitting force. The bandit vehicle crumpling beneath the impact, sending the driver and the gunner catapulting forward and splattering into a mess of blood, gore and shattered bone against the very gate they were trying to get into.

Raising to his full height, the slayer leered at his opposition through his HUD. "Looks like we got a big target boys!" shouted one of the bandits from the bed of the rear technical. "Save the head if you can, it'll look good on my hood!"

Mason grin sadistically while he brought out his new E-Tech rifle and cocked the bolt-handle.

**("Slayer Gates" - Doom Eternal OST)**

The glowing rounds left the barrel in a steady solvo, punching through shields, armor and flesh alike as the slayer mowed down the bandits and raiders in his sights. Those that managed to avoid being torn apart by the Eridium-infused barrage fired their own weapons at the armored super soldier, only for their rounds to bounce harmlessly off his suit's plates.

A psycho leapt from one of the technicals, Mason caught him in midair without trouble. Sending his rifle to storage, he took out a grenade, pulled the pin and rammed his fist through the deranged man's rib cage. Implanting the explosive before throwing the body at the Bloodshots where he exploded in a burst of red that distracted them.

This would be their downfall as the slayer charged ahead into their ranks, shoulder bashing technicals out of his way and crushing several of the bandits with his hands and feet.

A midget with a shotgun tried to shoot him, but one of Mason's large boots connected with his head. Severing it from his body and sending it through the windshield of a truck, much to the driver's horror.

The remaining bandits attempted to gang up in the berserking Doomslayer, but each and every one met a painful and bloody end as they were torn apart within his grasp. A Badass Psycho charged into the frey, raising his buzzaxe to deliver a harsh blow, but the weapon was deflected by Mason's chainsaw. Sparks shooting in all directions when the whirling blades met.

Spinning to the left, Mason came back around with his chainsaw revved loudly as he cut through the mutated psycho's leg. Dropping him to the ground where he proceeded to drive the deadly instrument into his back. The teeth chewing through flesh and bone and he yanked upward and cutting the Badass up through his torso and head, nearly cutting him in half.

Praetor suit covered in a thick layer of flesh blood, the slayer turned his attention when he heard an engine roaring and a lone technical attempting to flee.

"Heh, pussy." Mason said as he brought out his rocket launcher. Targeting the vehicle and firing one shot. The missile hitting the bandit truck's rear and sending it flipping forward into the air and crashing on its roof.

Lowering the weapon, the slayer felt something impact the back of his helmet. Turning around, he found a lone bandit Marauder holding a now badly bent tailpipe of a wreck vehicle.

"Oh...fuck..." the bandit muttered, dropping his 'weapon' and raising his hands. Mason grabbed him by his face, a small application of his monstrous strength had the skull in his hand popping like a grape.

**X**

The leader of the bandit group crawled out from under his technical. Battered and bloody as he tried to escape even though his legs were a mangled mess.

_**"What the fuck's going on out there!"**_his echo bellowed, his boss not sounding pleased. _**"You idiots better have gotten through those gates or there'll be hell to pay!"**_

Taking out the echo, the bandit attempted to call for backup when a large, green armored hand reached down and plucked the device from his weak grasp.

_**"Hello?! One of you assholes better answer me before-"**_

"This the head of the Bloodshots?" Mason asked, cutting off whoever it was.

_**"Who the fuck are you?!"**_

"I'm the one that just finished turning your guys into bloody smears on my fists." he took out his combat shotgun and blew the head off the bandit at his feet. "And that, was the sound of me killing the last one. Now, before you open your mouth and give some lame-ass monologue about ripping my spine out my ass or some other bullshit, allow me to explain what's going to happen next."

"I know you're little hideout is at the old damn, I also know how to get through that weak-ass gate you have protecting it. You better hope the men you have guarding the place last longer than these ones did, because your time left in this life are numbered."

The line was silent for several seconds before the one on the other end burst out laughing. _**"Y-Your kidding right?! What the fuck you planning to do?!"**_ the head of the bandit clan asked while still laughing.

Mason grinned behind his visor and said only three words;

"Rip and Tear." the echo was crushed in his hand not even a moment after.

**X**

Back at Sanctuary's gate, the Crimson Raiders had witnessed the utter slaughter of the attacking bandits with equal parts awe and fear. One of them having turned to the side to throw up.

Reiss was at a complete loss, his rifle having slipped from his limp fingers and clattering to the ground as he watched the Bloodshots getting torn apart...literally.

"Corporal." Reiss jumped and spun around to see Roland and the other former Vault Hunters approaching from the city. "Report."

"Uhh...we suffered two casualties...sir." the Corporal looked back out at the blood-soaked battlefield. "C-Commander...who was that?"

Roland looked out over all the carnage and winced, almost feeling sorry for the Bloodshots. "New addition to our ranks. I'm pretty sure his results speak for themselves."

Mason took that moment to approached the gate, fresh blood splashed across the Praetor suit's plates. "Well, that was a nice morning warm up." he said while cracking his neck. "Though I just called out the head honcho of the Bloodshots when he called one of his boys."

"You what?!" Asked Roland shocked. "What did you tell him?!"

"Told him that his days were numbered and I was coming for him." the slayer replied nonchalantly as he started making his way back to Sanctuary.

The Commander pinched the bridge of his nose, "Mason, I have no doubts at all that you're one tough son of a bitch. But we can't handle a full blown war with the local bandits on top of Hyperion. Throwing threats around will just get them more fired up."

Mason paused and looked back over his shoulder at Roland, "I didn't make a threat...I made a promise."

**X**

The slaughter of the Bloodshots just outside the borders became the talk of Sanctuary. Normally death, violence and shootouts were an everyday occurrence that many folks didn't bat an eye at. But when it is done by the CR's newest member, who had done it mostly with their bare hands, people couldn't help but spread it around.

Especially when several of the raiders that were on guard duty at the gate recorded what had happened on their echos.

Most of the populace of the settlement were curious about Mason, even more so now compared to before. A select few others did their best to steer clear of him, while a smaller number actually wanted to try and fight him. Although they lacked the courage to go through with it.

Returning to the HQ, the Slayer was greeted by a very excited Tina. Who proceeded to jump onto his shoulders and ride on them as he walked through the front door. Everyone regrouped back in the war room and talked shop for a couple hours, going over various plans before going their own way for the time being.

Mason and his little charge decided to walk around Sanctuary after Roland told the slayer to familiarize himself with the town and the people in it.

Roland, Brick and Mordecai stuck around HQ with Tannis remaining in her lab area. As for Lilith, she began walking through Sanctuary lost in her thoughts.

She'd been plagued by more dreams last night, these ones more vivid than the ones that she had been having before;

**X**

_A burning plain stretched out, lightning storms igniting the skies above as loud roars and shrieks filled the air. The same warrior that she had been seeing every night was once again waging his endless crusade against the unholy beasts. His glowing blade slicing through their ranks, slicing through flesh and bone while blood painted the dirt beneath him._

_ But he wasn't alone. Around him stood the six women with angelic wings and ethereal aura were combating the creatures as well, the seven of them laying waste to the invaders until nothing remained but corpses._

_ Among the carnage, the warrior breathed heavily, his never ending fury firm in his gaze as he stared off into the distance. _

_ The women all landed around him, one of them approaching and drawing the warrior's gaze to her. She reached up, her hand holding the side of his face and revealing the glowing markings that ran along her arm._

_ Rage filled eyes became calm, almost peaceful as the other women circled them. Each one reaching out to touch him, all of their arms baring the same markings as the first that all glowed when they came into contact with his powerful frame._

_ The first woman leaned up without warning and pressed her lips to his before a flash of light burst forth._

**X**

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the strange women in the dreams were Sirens, or that the warrior was more than likely Mason. But the real question that has been keeping her awake is why.

Why was she having these dreams? Why now all of a sudden? And how is it all connected to Mason? Nothing made sense anymore, and it was beginning to frusterate Lilith more and more as time passed.

Shaking her head, the Siren fished out a cigarette. Lighting it with her powers and taking a long inhale.

"You know those things will kill you." Lilith looked left and found Mason approaching with Tina still riding on his shoulder.

"Considering what else is out there, these are the least of anyone's worries." replied the Siren as she took another drag. Tina made a face before the slayer set her on the ground where she wandered off to play in the snow a few feet away. "I take it you met everyone?" asked Lilith.

"They are a colorful bunch." said the slayer. "Marcus seems loyal, though I can tell a good con man when I see one. Though its a good thing he's on your side. Zed is more likely to kill you as he is to heal you, but he's good at what he does. Scooter...he's certainly a character. Thought I was a giant robot and came at me with a wrench."

Lilith laughed, "Yeah, he's not all the way there. But you won't find anyone else on Pandora who can strip a runner and put it back together as quick as he can. Aside from his sister Ellie."

The duo lapsed into silence, both staring off into the distance of the frozen wastes just outside Sanctuary's shield. "Mason, I gotta ask." the Siren said, finishing her cig and crushing it on the ground. "Why did you reveal so much to us? I mean, we're all grateful, but to say so much to people you recently met seems like kind of a rough risk."

Mason was quiet as he thought the question over, "I may have spent an untold amount of time in Hell, but I like to think I can still judge Humans pretty good." he met her eyes through his visor, "On an instinctual level, I know I can trust you and the others. And like Roland said, the raiders could use all the help they can get dealing with Jack and his flunkies."

He turned his attention to Tina as she threw snowballs at the shield infront of her. "She things highly of you." said the Siren as she followed his line of sight. "Known you only a couple days and she thinks of you like a knight in shining armor."

The slayer nodded, "It's a nice fantasy...but I'm the farthest thing from a hero in any shape or form." he felt Lilith's eyes on him, "You all saw my history, or at least the cliffnotes. I'm not some archangel from the heavens. My soul is not even remotely qualified to even step foot there. I'm a monster with the sole purpose of slaughtering the ones that threaten to wipe out all life, through any means."

Lilith crossed her arms under her breasts and nodded, "I get that. No one here are saints. Pretty sure none of us are going to the pearly gates when our tickets get punched. There's really no 'saving' Pandora anyway, but it's our home. The least we can do it make it a little better."

"That's reason enough." Mason agreed. "Guess it's a good thing I fit in around here."

The Siren smiled, "Guess so." they fell back into silence as they looked out over the landscape together.

**X**

Back in her lab, Tannis was leaning over her desk as she went through a small library of echo recordings and data files that she had stored on the servers that were set up in the old archive building.

After the recent revelations that she and the others had been privy to, the scientist had a strange itch in the back of her mind that just wouldn't fade. At first she thought that she had finally tipped over the chasm of madness after balancing there for so long, then she realized that it was something else.

Something that forced her to go through her entire data collection as fast as she could to find the answer.

And after a several hours with little to no bathroom breaks, she had finally found it.

Looking at the screen before her, Tannis' eyes widened when an image appeared. Her brain going into overdrive and her heart hammering in her chest.

"Th-This...this changes everything..." she said in a near whisper.

On the monitor, was an image that had been carved into stone. One that had been taken by one her colleagues back when Daul first came to Pandora. Faded and eroded by time, but clear enough to make out the characters displayed.

The image revealed an armored warrior standing on a pile of what looked to be dead creatures. Six female shaped beings with wings could be seen behind them, but it was the last character at the very top that had the scientist on edge.

It was the arch-like symbol the Eridians used to signify the Vaults. And inside that was another familiar sigil. One that she had seen recently on the helm of their newest addition that she _knew_ she had seen once before.

The mark of the Night Sentinels.

**A/N: How's that for an update?**

**Doom Eternal is only a week away folks! And there's going to be a lot of ripping and tearing to be had. Until then, prepare yourselves!**


	12. Preparations

Time had a strange way of getting away from you on Pandora. Mason realized this when he got up one morning and realized a couple weeks had gone by since he first joined up with the Crimson Raiders. And since then, a lot of things had changed around Sanctuary.

With VEGA in the main systems, the small city became heavily fortified in terms of cyber-warfare. The AI had also been able to properly route the electrical systems making it not so draining on the power cells powering both Sanctuary and the shields protecting it. And thanks to VEGA, the raiders were protected when they were out on ops since Hyperion could no longer track their echo transmissions or access the fast travel network to gain a foothold.

Roland and the other former Vault Hunters could sleep a little easier at night knowing that they had an extra layer of protection for their operations. And speaking of operations...things had taken another drastic turn.

With Mason on their side, their mission success rate had shot up 110%. The slayer making himself the tip of the spear as he tore through the ranks of Hyperion and bandits alike as the CR took down outposts, weapons and Eridium caches, and even loader facilities. All of them relatively small operations that were meant to not only cause a dent in Jack's foothold on Pandora, but to draw the CEO's attention as much as possible in preparation for what they had been planning since the first day.

The recent bouts of success for the Crimson Raiders had other affects as well. More people living on Pandora were fighting back against Hyperion, many coming to Sanctuary to sign up to take back their homes and get back at Handsome Jack. The local bandits had stuck their nose in as well, trying to either cash in on bounties set up by the CEO or just to cause chaos where they wanted.

However, when news spread about what happened to the Bloodshots...that quickly changed.

_**X Flashback X**_

_Roland and Mordecai were in the lead runner with a small convoy of raiders behind them. When they had all gotten up that morning they couldn't find Mason anywhere in Sanctuary. It was when they found Tina in the HQ's kitchen eating a bowl of cereal where they found out where he had went._

_ The little girl told them that the slayer had gone on an 'errand'. When they asked what kind, she smiled and said it had something to do with some bandits at an old dam. They put the answer together and mobilized quickly._

_ "Uh...Roland?" Mordecai said from the turret seat as they got closer to the old damn built by Dahl years ago...finding the structure in flames._

_ Spiked iron gates that once was used to deter the curious was in shambles, the buildings just inside the small 'courtyard' of the makeshift base were nothing but piles of burning salvage. Dozens of bodies laid scattered everywhere either completely blown apart or with body parts missing._

_ The heavy door used as a drawbridge into the dam had a massive, smoldering hole in it, the structure itself had massive fissure cracks and holes along the stone surface with small fires flickering out of them. Wet, red smears running down from where bodies where most likely thrown down from the top._

_ "Holy shit." Roland muttered as the convoy rolled up to what was left of the Bloodshot's stronghold. The raiders all piling out with guns drawn, though given the state of the place they more than likely had nothing to worry about._

_ Right as they passed what remained of the gate, they all tensed when loud screaming pierced the air. A moment later, a body hit the ground several meters away, the dust settled to reveal the battered and bloody form of Flanksteak, the bandit clan's leader. _

_ "M-Monster...he's a fuckin'...monster!" Flanksteak slurred in agony as he began dragging himself across the ground leaving a trail of blood in his wake._

_ A second impact shook the ground, Mason standing from his crouched position from the drop with double-barrel in hand. The slayer cracking the weapon open and sending spent shells scattering while he loaded in a fresh pair._

_ The impact caused Flanksteak to freeze, rolling over just enough to see the one who slaughtered his entire clan approaching him. "Hey...we...we can working something out? Right?! This doesn't have to-"_

_**BOOM!**_

_ Flanksteak's head vanished in a blast of gore, ending the Bloodshot bandit clan entirely._

_ Lowering the smoking barrels, Mason headed toward the ruined gate. Patting Roland on the shoulder as he passed the Commander and the stunned resistance fighters with him. _

_ "Problem solved." the slayer said casually as he made his way back to Sanctuary._

_**X Flashback End X**_

Since then, no bandit anywhere near Sanctuary messed with the Crimson Raiders. And the rare few that tried didn't get very far.

Everyone thought it was a breath of fresh air, not having to deal with being attacked on multiple fronts. Roland however, was still on the fence.

He held no soft spot for the psychopaths and bandits that caused trouble on Pandora, he and the others have killed more than their fair share. He just didn't expect Mason to go off on his own like that and wipe an entire clan out as though he was going on an afternoon stroll.

The Commander was thankful, but at the same time he told the slayer that they were all a team. That even though Mason could handle his own and then some, it would have been better if he had at least given them a heads up with what he was doing.

Mason nodded and the matter was settled. After that all attention was focused on hammering Hyperion operations.

Aside from the missions they had undertaken together, the slayer had bonded with the former Vault Hunters and formed a strong friendship with each of them.

He'd go to the bar with Mordecai, swapping stories and wisecracks while drinking. Even Bloodwing didn't seem to have a problem with Mason, the hunting bird perching herself on the slayers shoulder on occasion.

Brick would constantly want to test his strength against Mason whether they were in Sanctuary or out dealing with bandits and Hyperion, the berserker sharing a kinship with the slayer through their brutality on the battlefield.

Despite his unease with Mason's methods and viciousness, Roland couldn't help but connect with the warrior's tactical mind. Even though the slayers main tactic revolved around running and gunning, he still plotted out every move he made while constantly on the move, always using the environment to his advantage against his enemies. The two of them together with VEGA's assistance had already developed a multitude of strategies that the raiders could use in the field.

Lilith, oddly enough, had a stronger connection with Mason compared to the others. Most of which was derived from knowing one another longer than the others. The two of them would constantly hang around one another talking about random things or sharing past experiences. The Siren finding the Hell Walker easy to talk and vent to when she needed, and the slayer found a good confidant in the red-headed woman.

Aside from the former Vault hunters, Mason relationship with Tina had also changed a great deal. The little girl looking up to the slayer like a father or older brother figure and made it her mission to stick to him like glue. Tina had also developed a fixation with anything that blows up, which included bombs, grenades and a literal arsenal of explosive weaponry.

Though Mason expected this, he made sure either he was nearby when she was 'playing' or had VEGA keeping a close/sharp eye just to be safe.

Everyone else around Sanctuary had gotten used to the slayer's presence. Some even greeting him kindly whenever he walked through town, although a rare few tried to start something from time to time.

They were found broken worse than jigsaw puzzles, half of them were lucky enough to be dead.

Currently, Mason was on his way back to Sanctuary after a small mission two regions over. Driving his technical through the main gate that opened when he approached and pulling into Scooter's garage. The mechanic looking up from the engine block he had been working on with his arrival.

"Eh yo big man!" the former Hodunk called out, "You're ride handlin' okay? Heard a bit o' rattlin' when ya pulled in."

"My truck's fine, Scooter." said the slayer as he climbed out of the technical and pulled a large sack from the bed that made metallic clinking noises when it moved as he handed it to the mechanic. "Picked up a shitload of power cells for Sanctuary's shields. Should keep them going for a while."

Scooter took the bag and opened it before whistling, "Dammmmmmmnnnnnn! How'd you get yer hands on this many?! Hell yeah it'll keep the shields up for a while!"

"A master never reveals the secrets of his craft." Mason replied as he left the garage, his technical being digi-structing behind him. "Catch you later, Scoots!" he called back while waving over his shoulder, making his way along the familiar path to HQ.

A few citizens nodded to him as he walked past, others getting out of his way as he entered the building and made his way up to he war room. Finding Roland and Brick locked in a deep discussion.

"I'm tellin' ya, just give me one chance and I'll have them both singin' like birds!" the berserker said while slamming his fists together.

The Commander rubbed his eyes, "You and I both know how carried away you get. We can't get information out of prisoners if they're mashed into a bloody paste, Brick."

Brick chuckled, "Yeah...I guess. Would be fun through."

Roland shook his head before noticing Mason's arrival, "Welcome back. I take it things went well?"

"Ten power cores. Dropped them off to Scooter on my way in." replied the slayer. "Those Hyperion assholes we got locked up ain't talking?"

The raiders' preparation for the raid on the Hyperion data hub was almost complete. But they still needed to execute a good enough distraction, thus Mason, Brick and Roland would take a small squad to attack a loading area for shuttles moving troops and supplies from Helios to Pandora.

During a recon mission of the port, two Hyperion soldiers were captured with the intention of getting the needed information to infiltrate the facility and cause as much havoc as possible.

"Not a word. If we want that raid on the data cache to go well we need to get that information." said Roland.

**"They are surprisingly resilient. And quite vulgar." **said VEGA.

Mason nodded, then left the war room. "Give me two minutes."

Roland's eyes widened, "Shit! WE NEED AT LEAST ONE ALIVE!" he shouted after the slayer.

Brick huffed and crossed his, "How come he get's to torture the bastards?" he pouted like a child.

**X**

Beneath the headquarters there was a massive storage room where the group kept a good stockpile of supplies for operations and other things to aid in their war. In the middle of the room a pair of men in Hyperion uniforms were tied to metal chairs that were bolted to the floor beneath a bright light bulb. Both of them looking battered and bruised from recent interrogations.

The door leading into the basement slammed open, making both men jump before heavy footfalls could be heard stomping their way. Mason's large form stepping into the light and looming over the prisoners.

"Heh, look at this. The cocksucker sent his biggest lap dog." one of the soldiers spat.

The slayer said nothing as he began to walk around them. "I gotta ask, I mean, the Siren bitch is obviously sucking him off. But what about you big guy? You the pitcher or the catcher." the other soldier said, not aware of the dangerous waters they were now in.

Mason did one more circled around them before standing infront of them. "We ain't saying shit! So why don't you go back to being Roland's little whipping boy you piece of-"

**"BANG!" **

The soldier was cut off when his partner's head suddenly exploded, blood and grey matter splatting across his face. The slayer holding his Torgue revolver with the barrel smoking, pointed at what was left of the other Hyperion soldier.

"I'm sorry. Did I break your concentration?" Mason asked condescendingly. "Please, continue."

The soldier sputtered and gaped, fresh blood still dripping off his face.

"Oh, you were finished? Well then allow me to retort." the slayer lowered his weapon, "What do I look like to you?"

"What?" the man managed to wheeze out.

Mason swung his fist, smashing into the headless body of the other prisoner. The impact ripping the chair from the floor and sending it crashing against the far wall. "What planet are you from?!"

"What?" the prisoner stuttered.

"What isn't any planet I've heard of, they speak english on what?!"

"What?"

"ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!" Mason roared.

"Yes! Yes!" the soldier shouted in sheer terror.

"Then tell me what I look like to you?"

"...what?"

The slayer pressed the barrel of his revolver hard into the man's forehead. "Say what again! SAY WHAT AGAIN! I DARE you, I double-dare you motherfucker!"

"Y-Your strong!" the prisoner managed to answer.

"Go on!"

"Y-Your tall."

"Do I look like a bitch?"

"...What?"

Mason reaimed and fired at the soldier's hand, blowing it off at the wrist and making him scream in agony. "Do I LOOK like a BITCH?!"

"NO!"

"Then why are you trying to fuck me like a bitch?" the slayer demanded.

"Wh-no, I-"

"Yes you are! Yes. You. Are. You're trying to fuck me." Mason spoke slowly and deliberately. "And let me tell you. I don't like to be fucked by anybody who isn't a beautiful woman."

Sending the Torgue weapon back to storage, the slayer leered down at the wounded man and crossed his arms. "Now then. My friends here have been more than reasonable, all they want it some information so that we can fuck with your boss. But, you seem to not want to tell us anything. Lucky for you, I have the proper tool for such a situation."

Reaching back, Mason pulled out his chainsaw and held it infront of him in full view. The soldier turned even more pale despite the blood loss and pissed himself. "This here is my old friend, the Beaver Tooth Painsaw. Capable of cutting through flesh and bone as easily as if it were wood." Gripping the cord, he gave it one rip and kick started the weapons engine.

"Now then, you're gonna tell me everything I wanna know. And if you don't well..." he revved the chainsaw loudly for full emphasis. "You ever see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Spoiler alert."

The prisoner screamed in pure, unadulterated terror as the whirling blades drew closer.

**X**

Roland kept his eyes firmly on his watch since Mason left. At one minute and thirty-five seconds the slayer walked back into the war room. "Still had twenty-five seconds left. Either of them still breathing?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. But I got the information." Mason said while taking off his helmet and setting it on the table.

"Do I even wanna know how you got it?" asked the Commander.

"After I killed one the other loosened his tongue a bit. Introducing him to an old friend was the breaking point." said the slayer. "We should be able to gain access to anything of importance in the port. Once we start braking things and get Jack's attention, Mordecai, Lilith and VEGA should have no trouble breaking into their data cache."

"Good to know." said Lilith as she and Mordecai walked in. "Not saying things have been boring around here. But I've been waiting for this."

Roland nodded in agreement, "Alright then. We'll set out first thing tomorrow." he approached the holotable and brought up a map of the Arid Badlands. "We'll use the fast travel station to drop in close," he motioned to a spot close to the settlement that had once been called Fyrestone before Hyperion moved in. "We'll split up from there. Mason, Brick and I will take a technical and attack the space port and make as much noise as we can. Once we're sure Jack's eyes are on us, Lilith will phase-walk with Mordecai into the data hub."

**"As soon as I am in the system, I will mine as much data as possible and transfer it into the servers here in Sanctuary."** said VEGA.

"Any idea how long that's gonna take?" asked Mordecai.

**"Depending on the amount of data collected, it may take a matter of time to make the transfer. I will focus on acquiring only the information that will help us find the Vault Key and anything else useful against Hyperion."** replied the AI.

"Alright then. Everybody gear up and get some rest tonight." Roland dismissed everyone for the day now that the plan was set. Mason made his way down to the first floor of the HQ and noticed that Tannis wasn't there.

The woman had been scarce ever since he first arrived. Anytime anyone saw her she was hyper-focused on whatever she was doing, muttering to herself and essentially blocking out everyone and everything else. No one was really worried, since it was part of Tannis' nature, though the others were wondering what exactly she was up to.

"Hey, Mason!" The slayer paused as Lilith came down the stairs and joined him, "Me and the guys were gonna hit up Moxxi's later. Tie one on before the mission tomorrow and what not. You in?"

"I'll be there. Gotta go check up on Tina and make sure she didn't blow up our place."

The Siren laughed, "She's become a little demo-expert, hasn't she. Wouldn't be surprised if she's stockpiling explosives in your closet."

Mason paused in thought, reminding himself to check their closets when he got home to be sure Lilith wasn't actually right about that. "I'll catch up with you guys in a bit." he waved before heading out the door. Heading down the street and through the center of town and heading in the direction of Marcus' business.

After establishing themselves in Sanctuary, Roland managed to get Mason a place of his own with enough room for his young charge.

It was a simple two bedroom place, rundown like the rest of the town, but comfortable enough to live in regardless for the slayer and the little girl he had taken under his wing.

"Tina, I'm home." he called out after walking through the front door into the small living room/kitchen area. When he didn't get a response he removed his helmet and went down the small hallway where the bedrooms and bathroom were located, coming up to a closed door that had pink flowers and bunny rabbits pained on the surface.

Opening the door and peering inside, Mason found the little girl at the small desk against the wall beside her bed. A box of grenades sat beside her with various parts scattered around while she worked on something he couldn't see.

"What are you up to, Little T?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Tina jumped a little, spinning around with a beaming smile. "A little project." she said before going back to what she was doing a second longer before turning around again to show a grenade with a pink dress on it. "What do you think? I call her, Princess Fluffybutt!" she said with pride and excitement.

The slayer raised an eyebrow, _"Most kids dress Barbies, this one dresses explosives" _he thought before he gave a mock bow to the grenade turned doll, "It's an honor, princess." he said which had Tina giggling.

"And it's a honor to meet a noble knight such as yourself." the girl spoke as though the makeshift doll was talking to him. "Will you be joining us for tea and crumpets this fine day?"

Mason chuckled and played along, "I would love to, but we are being cordially invited by the rest of my 'round table' at the local tavern. Our mission against a certain tyrant is tomorrow."

Tina's smile faltered a bit as she lowered her new 'doll'. "Can...Can I go too?" she asked.

Her guardian sighed, "Tina, I would love to have you there kicking ass beside me. But your still too young. When your older and have more training, I'll take you out with me, I promise." he saw her dejected look and pulled her into a hug. "I know you want to get back at the bastard that sent your family to Jack. I'm more than happy to help you get justice for it. But not when it puts you in danger."

The little girl nodded before breaking the hug, "You promise? We'll get him?"

"I'll let you use the Big Gun to kill him." Mason said seriously. The 'Big Gun' being the name Tina had given for the BFG-9000. His words causing Tina's eyes to sparkle with excitement at the idea of using said weapon to get her revenge. "Come on, Little T. Let's go meet up with everyone and grab something to eat."

Tina nodded as they got ready to head to Moxxi's. "Is Lilith going to be there?" she asked when they left their apartment. The slayer cleared his throat and nodded as he hooked his helmet to his belt. Pausing when he saw the girl's bright eyes looking up at him knowingly.

"...what?" he asked.

"You liiiiiiikkkkkkeeeee her." the girl sang innocently, causing the slayer to turn his head away to hide the barely noticeable red in his cheeks. Neither of them said a word after that. Mason shaking off his charge's words while Tina skipped beside him while humming a tune to herself.

**X**

Moxxi's had its usual atmosphere as the group of six sat in their usual booth. Three empty pizza boxes scattered on the table infront of them with a couple empty beer bottles. Tina sat comfortably between Mason and Mordecai happily munching on her third slice with the newly named 'Princess Fluffybutt' in her lap while the adults all talked amongst themselves.

"Everyone ready to stick it to Jack tomorrow?" asked Mordecai as he fed Bloodwing a few meat toppings from their pizzas.

"You kidding? With all the asskicking we've been doing we're more than ready." Brick exclaimed before slamming down another beer as though it were a shot.

"All goes well tomorrow, every dirty little secret Jack's keeping locked down will be ours. We might have a chance to finally make some headway in this war." said Roland, causing the others to agree.

Lilith finished off her own drink before getting up to get them another round. While she did, Mason couldn't help it as his eyes were drawn to the Siren's ass as she headed toward the bar. Watching her hips sway from side to side packed into the tight, torn pants she always wore.

Anyone would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not find the red-head attractive. Not just in looks, but also in personality and strength. Her Siren powers adding more to her allure that literally drew attention to her like moths to a flame.

After getting to know one another since they first met, the slayer found her to be fun and easy going, but at the same time a hell of a fighter. A large part of him was glad they had forged such a good friendship in such a short time, while another part wanted nothing more than to throw her over his shoulder, take her somewhere private and make her scream his name to the heavens.

Mason shook his head, mentally smacking himself when that line of thought reared its head once again. Those thoughts had been coming and going more and more often as of late; more than once he'd have dreams of the beautiful Siren naked and riding him with her eyes and tattoos glowing with her flaming wings flared out behind her.

It was a good thing that most if the water in Sanctuary was cold, because he had plenty of cold showers over the last couple of weeks.

"Mason? You still with us?" the slayer blinked and looked toward the other guys who all looked back.

"Sorry, lost in thought." he said, taking notice that Tina had finished eating and was dozing off cuddling her grenade-doll and leaning into his side.

Mordecai smirked, "Probably because you were too busy checking out Lilith's ass." Brick snorted in amusement while Roland shook his head with his own smirk.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Mason said, despite the fact that he had been caught.

"Whatever you say, amigo. But if you're that hard up over her, make a move." the hunter continued.

The slayer rolled his eyes, "A bit soon, don't you think? We've known each other less than a month."

"With the lives we live, hesitating would leave too many regrets." said Roland, surprising everyone. It was no secret that he and Lilith made an attempt at a relationship a while back that didn't go anywhere, and thankfully they still remained good friends when it was all said and done.

"That's...a bit surprising, coming from you Roland." said Mason.

The Commander nodded and sighed, "Lil and I had a thing once. Didn't work out in the end, we wanted different things. And it wasn't easy with everything we're trying to do against Jack and Hyperion. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see her happy. If you two can get something to work between you, then you should go for it. Life's too damn short as it is, especially here on Pandora."

On the other side of the bar, Lilith stood at the counter waiting for Moxxi to finish collecting another round for her and the boys. She looked back at the table and saw them talking amongst themselves, but she was too far away to hear what they were saying.

"So. How's our resident juggernaut?" asked Moxxi as she busied herself behind the bar.

"Badass on another level." replied the Siren. "He's really turned things around since he and VEGA had shown up. Though I think Brick's a little jealous that he's got a bigger bodycount."

The barmaid smiled as she sent a smoldering look at the slayer in question. "I gotta say, he's quite easy on the eyes." she leaned on the bar beside Lilith. "Those features, those eyes, and I've seen him outside that armor in casual clothes. Makes a girl wonder if he's as awesome between the sheets as he is in a fight."

Lilith felt her face coloring, remembering the various moments when she saw Mason outside the Praetor suit and his muscled frame.

"You still with me, Lilith?" asked Moxxi, breaking the Siren out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind." Lilith replied, trying to sound casual.

Moxxi gave her a knowing look and smile, "Nice try, killer. But a blind man could see you were checking out and thinking about a certain knight in bloody armor. Not that I blame you, of course. I certainly wouldn't mind having him as a fifth husband." she said while licking her lips.

The red-head rolled her eyes at the other woman's never ending libido. Although, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't interested in the slayer and was considering making a move.

She'd been single ever since her break up with Roland. And she'd enjoyed the time she spent with Mason since they first met. His fun, laid back demeanor and the confident way he held himself. And if the Siren were honest, seeing him in a firefight was kind of a turn on as well. Not to mention the odd dreams she'd been having hadn't made that fact any less known.

More than that though, with how soft and gentle he was around Tina had her seeing the ruthless slayer of demons in a different way.

"You planning on making your move?" asked Moxxi, setting another six beers down next to her.

Lilith smirked as she took the bottles, "Maybe." she said before making her way back to the table. The barmaid watching her go with a sinful smile on her face.

"Wonder if she'd be up for sharing once in a while."

**X**

After another hour or so, the group left the bar and went off to get some sleep. Mason carried a sleeping Tina into her room and tucked her into bed before heading into his own and removing his armor. Stretching out his muscles before crashing out in his own bed for the night. Mentally preparing himself for the assault on the Hyperion spaceport the next day.

But he wasn't prepared for what was waiting for him in his own subconscious...

**X**

_He was on his knees, being held between to knights in white armor as the stone and metal platform they were on descended. Stopping when it reached the bottom where he was then dragged down a small corridor with the walls and floor covered with gold colored sigils and ornaments._

_ The knights brought him before a pair of mean wearing priest-like garbs and head-dresses and holding staffs._

_ "We found him in the valley. Just outside the castle walls. He was wounded, and wearing this." the knight on his right said and handed a scratched and dented helmet to one of the priests who accepted it and looked it over with careful eyes._

_ He breathed heavily, despite his injuries and spoke in a strained, rough tone. "...guts. Huge guts! Kill them...must kill them all!" _

_ "Hmm, he has fight in him yet." said one of the priests. _

_ "Inspite of his injuries." agreed the other, their eyes on him again as they handed his helmet back to the guards. "Take him to the arena. Let him be judged like the others."_

_ He was then dragged back down the corridor. The world around him going hazy as the scene changed._

_ Now he was standing in a circular arena, a dozen other men laid sprawled out around him groaning in pain or completely knocked out. The one standing infront of him staggered as he swung a fist at him._

_ His hand shot out and blocked the strike before delivering a powerful right-cross that cracked his jaw and sending blood spraying into the air as he was thrown to the ground._

_ "Rip...and...tear!" he hissed through clenched teeth._

_ Another priest, different from the other two approached him. "You'll make a fine addition to the front lines, stranger."_

_ "The demons...they are everywhere. Must...kill them all." he rambled, his blood boiling in his veins._

_**"Dress his wounds and bring him to us. I want to know about the others he speaks of."**__ a raspy, feminine voice spoke. He turned and saw what looked to be an angel-like being covered in armor hovering above the floor. _

_ The priest bowed his head to her, "Yes, your grace." _

_ The scene changed again, this time showing him walking into a large chamber with a strange machine set up in the middle. The building around him shook with the sounds of gunfire, explosions and loud roars echoing from outside._

_ A figure in a red hood drifted past him into the chamber. __**"We must move, quickly. There are those who would seek to stop this."**__ they said as they both approached a man-shaped pod in the middle of the raised platform that opened on their approach. _

_**"I offer you a gift."**__ the figure said as they stopped before a console beside the pod. __**"Take it. It will give you strength. Help you on your journey."**_

_ He climbed inside without hesitation. Glowing pilons extending around the chamber as the pod leaned back and began to seal. Looking over to the cloaked being as a golden light began to fill his vision, their face hidden beneath the shadows of their hood as they reached out to the console._

_**"And now, they will fear you."**_

_ The light became blinding and a molten heat surged through his whole being. Penetrating to the depths of his very soul._

**X**

Mason sat straight up, eyes blazing and fists clenched with his heart slamming in his chest. His breath hissing through clenched teeth while his mind was still reeling from what he had felt and witnessed.

It took several long minutes before he began to calm down. His heartrate slowly eased back to normal and relaxed his white-knuckled fists. Everything catching up with him now that he was thinking more clearly.

"...what the fuck was that?"

**A/N:...**

**DOOM ETERNAL IS HERE!**

**And I've been playing for the last three days straight! (Gamestop released it a day early due to COVID-19 outbreak) And let me tell you, it's so much more than one hell of a wild ride! And with it, offering a shitload more content to this already badass story!**

**More to come soon. And to my fellow DOOM players out there, I'll see you in Hell! **


	13. Clash of Titans

In the heart of the Arid Badlands, the fast travel station just outside the remnants of Fryestone flared to life before depositing a heavily armed group of five in a flash of digital pixels. The Doomslayer and the for former Vault Hunters stood ready for the operation that was going to put a definite impact into Handsome Jack's plans.

"We're on the ground. VEGA, anything on your end?" asked Roland.

**"Our presence is currently undetected."** replied the AI, masking the team to ensure Jack didn't detect them until they wanted him to.

Mason scanned the desert stretched out before them, seeing the Hyperion spaceport a couple kilometers out with his HUD's enhanced vision. "He'll figure something's up when his property starts blowing up." he commented, his HAR in hand at the ready.

"Then what are we sticking around for? Let's go smash some stuff." said Brick in excitement.

"Easy big guy, we still have a job to do." said Lilith.

"Everyone knows what to do. Let's get this done and get back." said Roland. The team going over the plan one last time before they went their separate ways. Mason, Roland and Brick hitting up a still functioning Catch-A-Ride and summoning the slayer's technical that they all piled into and set off toward their target.

The Commander behind the wheel with the slayer riding shotgun, foot on the dash braced against the seat and scanning their surroundings through the precision scope of his heavy rifle with Brick taking up the bed of the technical.

All of them had been ready and dead set when they got up that morning. Armed to the teeth and ready to cause as much collateral damage as possible. Tina had still wanted to go with them, and was pouting when the team set off for the day. Mason had been glad Moxxi had been happy to take the little explosive expert for the day. Being a mother, despite her natural flirty nature, she knew her way around children as well as she did a gun.

The slayer was however surprised that the woman refused any form of payment for watching his little ward. Although the smoldering look and wink she sent his way when she said something about paying her back in another way gave him an idea of what she had in mind.

Not that he minded the prospect she was insinuating, but Mason had his sights set on a certain red-headed badass at the moment.

**"You are approaching the port's main gate. Preparation for breach is advised." **VEGA reported over their echos.

"HA HA! Then let's go knock on their door!" Brick exclaimed, more than ready for the coming bloodshed.

"On it." Mason switched his HAR for his Gauss cannon, attaching the siege mod to the weapon's barrel before bracing it on the overhead rack and taking aim at the entrance gate of the spaceport that was fast approaching. Arcs of energy discharging around the barrel as it charged for several seconds.

Roland gripped the steering wheel, mentally preparing himself as the large cannon fired. Shaking the vehicle when it did as the powerful beam of energy lanced through the air and blew a hole through the gate ahead of them.

Alarms immediately blared as the trio barreled through the smoldering gate. The technical mowing down a pair of loaders that were stomping over to repair the damage as the raiders jumped out and opened fire on the personnel around them.

Guards, combat engineers and different variations of loaders immediately converged on the intruders. Roland threw down his scorpion turret and took cover with assault rifle in hand. "I think we got their attention!" he shouted over the alarms as he fired on their enemies

Mason brought out his chaingun and opened fire on a cluster of fuel tanks. The following explosion taking out a group of soldiers and loaders that had been too close and sending fire and shrapnel in all directions. "Then lets keep it that way!" he shouted, switching to his rocket launcher and firing a salvo of explosives into the side of a building.

**X**

Lilith and Mordecai saw the explosions from their place just outside the data cache. "Damn. I give it two minutes before Jack starts throwing a shit-fit." said the hunter as Bloodwing swooped down and landed on his shoulder.

"Then we better get started before he finds out what's really up." replied the Siren, grabbing her partner's arm and flaming them both just outside the shielded entrance to the facility. "We're in place VEGA. Do your thing."

A few seconds passed before the shields flickered before shutting down completely and allowing the duo entry. **"Plug me into the console connected to the main server, and I will start the data mine. I have deactivated as many of the security measures as possible and scrambled transmissions to avoid detection, but it is only a matter of time before the systems report something amiss."**

Lilith attached her echo to the console VEGA had mentioned as the AI sliced into the servers and started pulling information. Sifting through the files available at an alarming speed to find only what they needed. "Just grab anything you think's important. We'll handle anything that might come up."

"Ask and you shall receive, Lil." said Mordecai, preparing his rifle as a couple loaders unfolded from the walls. The Siren powered up and brought out her SMG as they prepared for their own fight.

**X**

Jack grit his teeth, watching the feeds where the bandit scum of Sanctuary were laying waste to one of his spaceports.

For the last few weeks the bastards had been taking out dozens of his facilities and outposts while killing hundreds of his employees. He could have cared less about the slack-jawed morons on his payroll, but the repetitive set backs were not only costing him money, but precious resources in finding the Vault and laying waste to the scum of Pandora one and for all.

His anger mounted even more when he saw who was leading the attack. The bastard Roland himself...and his new _best friend_, the armored freak who was almost as big of a pain in the ass as dumbass resistance leader himself.

Honestly, how hard was it to kill ONE asshole?!

Clenching his fists, Jack brought up his echo; "Angel." he said in a sharp, calm tone.

_**"Yes, Jack?" **_asked the young Siren.

"It's time for these fucks to get the message about who owns this planet...send Wilhelm." the CEO said with a sadistic grin.

Angel recoiled in her bunker as she was forced to comply. Praying beyond all hope that what was about to happen wouldn't be a repeat of the New Haven incident.

_"Please...survive this. All of you."_

**X**

Another combat engineer had his arm torn off before the limb came back around and bashed against his head. Tossing the severed arm aside, Mason grabbed another soldier by the head and threw them into the side of a crate.

A surveyor drone swooped down and attempted to fire an electric pulse shot at him, but a flaming chunk of salvage flew through the air and sliced it clean in half. "Bullseye!" Brick whooped before punching a soldier hard enough to snap his neck.

Roland reloaded his rifle, tossing a couple grenades into an open doorway. The explosions blowing out the windows and sending robot and human body parts flying.

"Status!" he said into his earpiece as they kept up the assault.

_**"Data mine in progress. Estimated time of completion: Five minutes." **_reported VEGA. _**"Lilith and Mordecai are currently engaged against security loaders guarding the main server."**_

_"Atleast things aren't boring!" _said Lilith among gunfire and explosions in the background.

"Stay focused and hang tight, we're almost there." Roland said back, ending the transmission and taking out an EXP-loader that attempted to charge him.

Mason overheard the call, combat shotgun in hand with the burst-mod in place as he mowed down everything that crossed his path. "Hey, Mase! Got 23!" Brick called out as he dropped the dead body in his hands.

The slayer fired a burst from his shotgun, blowing apart a combat loader and an engineer at the same time. "26! Catch up big man!" he shouted back. The berserker laughed loudly as he spear-tackled another robot, crushing it with his bulk.

Roland rolled his eyes. Ever since the two of them started working together, Mason and Brick would make a competition out of how many kills they could rack up. Last he checked, the slayer was in the lead, though Brick was desperate to catch up to the other man's body count.

Although, given Mason's track record, it was a pipe dream at best. But that didn't stop Brick from trying.

Stomping his boot down on the head of another loader that he had knocked over, the slayer brought out his HAR. Firing precision shots that blew the heads off a couple of snipers that were lined up on a balcony above the port's main floor.

_**"Hey out there! We interrupt your regular bout of random violence to bring you dipshits the following message."**_ Jack's voice suddenly came through their echos, making them pause. _**"You know, it takes a lot to piss me off. After all the bullshit you savages put me through over the years, even more in the last couple of weeks, I've tried to be a good sport. But now...enough's enough. I've given you limpdicks plenty of chances to give up, but you just keep pissing on my generosity."**_

_** "So, with that being said. Roland, I think its time I reintroduce you to an 'old friend'. You might remember him from New Haven. Or, more or less, what was left of it."**_

Roland felt his stomach drop. "...No. He can't possibly mean-"

The ground shook from a thunderous impact as something was sent down from Helios. All of the fighting stopped and attention was centered on the newly formed crater as a large frame slowly rose up from it.

At first glance, someone would consider it another loader. But in the center of the frame was a Human torso...or what could barely pass for a flesh and blood torso at least. Countless wires and hoses connected what had once been Human to a pair of massive mechanical arms and legs that made him stand almost 20 feet high.

The still Human head was bald with a pair of cybernetic eyes and a long black beard with a silver streak running down the middle. A large mortar cannon was mounted on the right shoulder, giving it the appearance of a literal walking tank.

"Oh shit." Brick said, sounding nervous himself at the new arrival.

_**"I think you all know Wilhelm."**_ Jack introduced, sounding happy and sadistic with the appearance of his strongest enforcer. _**"Wilhelm...KILL THESE FUCKERS!"**_

**"Acknowledged."**Wilhelm stated in a deep, digitized voice. His cannon coming online before firing at the closest target. Which happened to be Mason.

The slayer crossed his arms just as the explosive struck, the blast sending him flying across the port and crashing through a Hyperion cargo ship.

"MASON!" Roland shouted after him before diving behind a large crate when another mortar shot got too close. "Lilith! Mordecai! Jack sent Wilhelm!"

_"WHAT?!"_ Mordecai shouted over the comms.

_"You guys need to get the hell out of there! We could barely escape the last time that cyber-freak came around!" _Lilith said next

Brick attempted to hit the cyborg with the rocket launcher he'd brought with him. Wilhelm side-stepped the rockets, a pair of sentry drones launched from his back. One opening fire on the Vault Hunters while the other produced a shield around the cyborg for added protection.

"Alright! Let's make this personal!" Brick roared as he charged Wilhelm with his fists clenched. In response, the enforcers mechanical fist shot forward via extension, hitting the berserker in the chest and sending him hurdling back and slamming into a stack of crates that collapsed on top of him.

**"Come on out, Roland."** Wilhelm goaded as he smashed several other crates aside. **"You're not getting away this time!"**

The Commander rolled out of cover, shooting at the cyborg's joints attempting to hit a weak spot. Avoiding the shots fired from the sentries overhead as well as the blasts from the mortar cannon.

He and the others barely survived their first encounter with the man turned machine. No matter what they threw at him it barely made a scratch while Wilhelm had leveled all of New Haven in a matter of minutes. And that was with the four of them, plus the defenders of the settlement together.

Dropping his scorpion turret again, Roland dove back behind cover seconds before a mortar shot destroyed it. They needed a miracle, and a damn good one or they would be going back to Sanctuary in a bucket!

**("BFG Division" - Doom 2016 OST)**

A loud, metallic groan was heard from within the crumpled remains of the cargo ship. Seconds before a fist punched the door off the main compartment.

Mason stomped out of the ship, quickly surveying what was going on before bringing out his gauss cannon. Attaching the precision mod on the barrel and taking aim at Wilhelm who had his back turned to the slayer.

Sighting his target, he fired the deadly bolt. The assault sentry attacking Roland was instantly destroyed before Mason reaimed and destroyed the shield sentry next.

His drones destroyed, Wilhelm turned and locked his sights on the slayer. **"Well, well. If it isn't the Crimson Raiders' new attack dog. You honestly think any of you are going to get out of here alive?" **

Mason didn't say a word as he switched his gauss cannon with his double-barrel. In the next moment he was charging at the cyborg. Wilhelm grinned, bringing his right arm up high and bringing it down hard on the slayer when he got close.

Seeing the coming attack, Mason brought his left arm up to block. The ground cracking and splitting beneath him when the two limbs made contact. To the utter astonishment of the cyborg, the slayer didn't even buckle under the impact, this caused enough of a distraction for the super shotgun to be raised and fired point blank into Wilhelm's center of mass.

His shields absorbed the shot, but the power behind it was enough to send the cyborg staggering back a couple steps.

Mason was on the move immediately, sliding between Wilhelm's legs before kicking on his boot thrusters to launch himself backwards. Slamming his elbow into the cyborg's back and sending him falling forward.

Going with the momentum, the slayer flipped around, sending his super-shotgun to storage as he grabbed the mortar cannon. Armored fingers digging into the metal as he tore the weapon from Wilhelm's frame, swinging it around and smashing it against the enforcer's head.

Kicking on his boots again, Mason jumped away from Wilhelm as he crashed to the ground. Bringing out his rocket launcher and raining a barrage of missiles down on his prone form.

The slayer landed with the barrel of his launcher still smoking as he waited. Wilhelm slowly bringing himself back to his feet, his shields flickering.

**"Heh, that the best you got?" **the cyborg spat, sparks shooting out of his shoulder where his cannon once was.

Mason narrowed his eyes behind his visor, switching his rocket launcher for his plasma rifle and opening up with a salvo of bolts that slammed into Wilhelm's already weakened shields. A stun bomb quickly followed, shattering the barrier completely and leaving the enforcer reeling, giving the slayer time to close the gap between them and slammed his fist into Wilhelm's face. His left optic cracked along with his jaw as he was sent slamming into a wall.

**X**

Roland had believed nothing could surprise him anymore, especially after everything he had learned about the slayer that had joined them.

But seeing said man going toe to toe with the one that had beaten him and the others so easily, and WINNING...that was something that was beyond his wheelhouse.

_"Roland what's going on out there?!" _Lilith's voice cut through his thoughts and he quickly got on his echo.

"Mason's fighting Wilhelm!" said the Commander as the two metal titans continued to go at it.

_"He's what?!" _the Siren shouted.

"Lilith he's beating him!" Roland added.

_"Please tell me you're recording this shit!" _Mordecai threw in.

The pile of crates Brick had been thrown into moved, the berserker standing up holding his head a moment later with blood trickling down from his nose. "What'd I miss?" he asked, cracking his nose back in place. A loud crash snapped him to attention as he watched Mason taking on Wilhelm on his own. "What the hell?!"

Wilhelm swung his massive fists at the slayer only for his target to duck and weave around them. Getting in close and delivering an uppercut that nearly shattered the cyborg's teeth.

Jumping back, Mason went through his arsenal mentally to think of the best weapon to bring his opponent down;

Ballistics would talk too long and drain his ammo. His plasma weapons were in the same boat. He didn't want to waste anymore BFG rounds until he could replenish them. And his chainsaw would break on the enforcer's hard armored frame.

Then he remembered. The one weapon he had yet to use. One that felt so right in his hands even when he had never remembered wielding it before.

Accessing the quantum pack, Mason brought out the Crucible. A flick of the wrist had the blade of argent energy snapping into existence, arcs of red static traveling the length of the weapon.

**"You think that little lightsaber is gonna stop me?"** Wilhelm said, spitting blood out of his mouth.

The slayer tightened his grip on the sword's hilt, he ran at the cyborg. Wilhelm swung a hard punch to cut him off, but Mason responded with an upward slash with the Crucible...

The argent blade sliced clean through the limb with no resistance. The stump glowing red and air smelling like burnt metal as the arm was sent flying.

Wilhelm was frozen in shock as he watched his arm clatter to the ground several meters away. This would be his final mistake as Mason came swung again, cleaving his legs off and dropping his height by a third. A second swing bisected his torso and taking both arms.

**"Shi-" **the cyborg never finished as one final slice removed his head, adding to the pile of salvage where he had been standing.

Silence reigned over the spaceport as the slayer stood over the remains of Jack's head enforcer. The Crucible hummed loudly in his hand as if relishing in the kill it had made.

Any surviving Hyperion personnel that had witnessed Wilhelm's demise immediately fled in terror. Not wanting to go up against the one who had taken him down so quickly. Though none were more surprised than two of the four Vault Hunters who had fought the cyborg.

Roland and Brick couldn't seem to blink. They both nearly died with the others fighting Wilhelm before, yet Mason had literally cut him down to size. Neither of them heard Lilith and Mordecai trying to get ahold of them for several moments before the Commander finally answered.

"Yeah...Yeah we're here."

_"An update would be good, Rol!"_ Lilith demanded.

"Wilhelm's down." Roland said straight to the point, making the other end of the comm go dead silent.

_"...You serious amigo? No bullshit?" _Mordecai finally asked, sounding about as blown away as they rest of them.

"We're looking at his smoking remains right now, Mordi." said Brick. "Mase cut him up with that freaky-ass sword of his."

_**"The data mine is complete."**_ VEGA cut in. _**"I recommend we regroup at the fast travel station and make our trip back to Sanctuary before Hyperion has a chance to regroup."**_

"I doubt they will at this point." said Mason as he approached the others, deactivating the Crucible and putting it away. "But we should be going. We still have a Vault Key to find."

Roland nodded as they piled back into the technical, leaving the burning remains of the spaceport and the cooling body of Wilhelm behind them. Meeting up with Lilith and Mordecai before teleporting back to Sanctuary.

**X**

Loud crashes and swearing could be heard in the corridor leading to Jack's office. The CEO smashing everything in sight in a blinding rage. The death of Wilhelm setting him off like a grenade strapped to a barrel of gasoline.

"FUCK!" Jack roared as he threw his computer monitor against the wall. "HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT TO KILL ONE FUCKING SAVAGE!" his chair was thrown next, cracking the large window behind him when it connected with the surface.

What the hell was this guy?! He just wouldn't. Fucking. DIE! And he seemed to pull a literal arsenal from out of nowhere. Where the hell did this guy come from?! And how do kill him when he's killed everything in his way?

"Angel?! Do you have anything on this asshole?! Anything at all?!" he demanded, bracing himself on his desk and breathing heavily.

_**"I'm sorry Jack, there's nothing."**_ replied the Siren.

"Well keep looking! I swear to whatever the fuck is out there that this fucker is as good as dead! One way or another!" the CEO seethed.

**X**

Angel withdrew from her father's office, letting him stew in his rage with a sense of vindictiveness knowing one of his attack dogs were put down.

Taking a deep breath, she perked up when a message on a private channel appeared on one of her screens;

_**Collected information. Preparing for next stage. Thank you.**_

It was brief, a failsafe incase it was somehow intercepted. But Angel understood the meaning behind it clear as day and felt a great deal of hope blossom in her chest.

Her eyes trailed to the pedestal closeby where the Vault Key sat. Filling with the energy she was forced to feed into it via Eridium injections.

She just needed to hold out for a little longer...

**A/N: Being stuck inside all the time and being laid off gives you plenty of time to do other things, that much is for sure. **

**This goes out to everyone who is affected by COVID-19, either those who are quarantined, infected or suffering a loss due to the disease. You are not alone. All of us, everywhere, are in this together. And even though we're divided physically in order to keep safe, that doesn't mean we can't reach out to one another through other means. **

**We will endure. And we will come back from this stronger than ever. **

**So to my brothers and sisters here on , let's show this virus that we can't be beat. That we are all INCORRUPTIBLE and UNYIELDING!**


	14. The Hell Walker's Firehawk

Saying that Wilhelm's demise was a moral boost for the people of Sanctuary would have been a grave understatement.

The moment word spread about the cyborg's downfall everyone celebrated. A lot of people had lost someone to Jack's enforcer, an old friend of the original Vault Hunters, Helena Pierce, and the many survivors of New Haven she had been trying to get to Sanctuary being among them.

Mason couldn't go anywhere in town without someone thanking him or trying to buy him a drink. Wilhelm had been Hyperion's cybernetic boogyman, the mention of his name had the CR bailing out of operations to avoid an untimely death. With him now scrap, the raiders' lost courage was renewed which spelled bad news for those on the corporation's payroll.

To the slayer, it was just another bastard to take down. Honestly, he wasn't even that hard. A Baron of Hell was harder to bring down and they attacked in pairs.

"I can't believe we missed it!" Mordecai groaned when everyone was gathered in the war room. The hunter still sore at not being able to see Wilhelm being cut down by Mason's Crucible.

"Sucks to be you, it was AWESOME!" Brick exclaimed with a shit-eating grin. "Four swings and the bastard was scrap! That Crucible thing cut through his armor like butter, ole metal head never stood a chance."

Roland nodded before turning his attention to Mason, "it was impressive. You have no idea how much of a load off this is for the raiders. Wilhelm was one of Jack's best. With him gone the rest of his employees will think twice before messing with us."

"And piss Jack off something fierce." Lilith added with a grin.

"He wasn't really that difficult." said the slayer with a shrug. "His first shot was a lucky one. He was too cocky for his own good, and I've definitely fought bigger and meaner than him."

"Regardless, with Wilhelm gone missions will go more smoothly now. On that subject," Roland turned his attention to the holo-table, "VEGA, anything stand out with the data you pulled?"

The AI's avatar appeared above the table, **"There was quite a lot of data that could prove effective in your mission against Hyperion."** an array of windows appeared for them to read displaying the information. **"However, this here would be considered the highest priority."**

An image of the Vault Key appeared amongst the displays. **"Jack is keeping the Vault Key in the fortified bunker at Thousand Cuts. Given the level of security it makes sense something of such importance to his operations is being kept there. Many of the files regarding the bunker also hint toward something called 'Control Core Angel'."**

"Sounds important." commented Lilith. "Does any of the files say what it is?"

**"No. Whatever it is, Jack has done his best to keep it well hidden. Even from his own people."**replied VEGA. **"However, I was able to acquire the full extent of the defenses that are in place;"**

An image of the location appeared with a massive wall surrounding the site with a lone entry point. **"The first is classified as a 'competitor deterrent field'. An energy barrier emitting thermosonic energy that will atomize anyone who attempts to pass through it that isn't Hyperon personnel."**

"The bastard has a 'Death Wall'?" asked Brick.

The image shifted to show the mountain sized bunker. **"The next line of defense is the bunker itself. Outfitted with the best anti-air and ground weapons possible. At first glance you would assume that it is the facility itself, but after breaking through several security firewalls I discovered that wasn't the case."**

Before their eyes, a large platform rose away from the facility and revealed to be a massive, ship-like machine that was armed to the teeth. **"This is the BNK3R. Programmed to protect the control core with extreme prejudice."**

"Damn, and I thought Wilhelm was bad." Roland muttered as they observed the defense system.

**"The last line of defense is a doorway that will only open for Handsome Jack. Biometric and audio locks are in place to ensure no one is able to enter except the CEO himself."** VEGA finished the presentation.

The group took in the information for a few moments before Mason broke the silence. "I can bring down the flying fortress. Doubt that armor could hold up against what I can dish out."

"What about the death wall? Nothing else is going to matter if we can't even get our foot in the door." said Lilith.

Roland sighed deeply, "The energy field will only allow Hyperion through, right? I might have a way for us to get through it."

All eyes went tot he commander before something clicked.

"Ahhhh man!" Mordecai groaned, "Please tell me you don't mean what we think you mean, Rol."

"Trust me. He's the only one that still classified as Hyperion tech that Jack can't control." said Roland. "If we want to get through that 'death wall', we're gonna need Claptrap."

**X**

After an hour more of planning, Mason had left the HQ and was making his way to Moxxi's to pick up Tina.

The thought of acquiring Claptrap had been most of the discussion after VEGA had explained the defenses for Control Core Angel. It was easy to tell that none of the former Vault Hunters were excited on the idea of getting the help of the robot to help them.

He had been wondering about the annoying little garbage can since he first arrived on Pandora. As much as he had faith in the Praetor suit and his supernaturally gifted strength, he wasn't prepared to get fried trying to pry his way through Angel's first defence checkpoint. Better to play it safe that way.

"VEGA, was the message sent?" the slayer asked his AI partner privately.

_**"Sent and received. Are you still planning on keeping what we know to ourselves?" **_VEGA asked inside Mason's helmet.

"For now. When we have everything we need to get into the control core we'll have Angel speak for herself. How is she?"

_**"Difficult to say. But from what I can gather from the brief messages she has been able to send without Jack knowing, she's more than happy to be free of her confines."**_ said the AI.

"Can't blame her. Being used as a power source against your will for so long is torture beyond understanding. I only hope that we can get to her before her body becomes too dependent on the Eridium being forced into her system."

He knew that it had only been going on for a couple years at best, with any luck they could get the young Siren out of there without killing her.

Mason had wanted to get Angel out of the control core right off, but he needed to be sure of every angle and variable that could have changed or might change. Hence the assault on the data cache which thankfully gave them everything they needed.

As for keeping it all this from the others, he knew that they would be onboard to rescue Angel. Though there would be distrust considering it was she who led them to open the first Vault on Jack's orders. More than that though, Lilith would pull out all the stops to save her fellow Siren. But the risk of what could happen to her within the control core had too many bad outcomes.

Simply put, the slayer had to play it safe to ensure everyone made it out of there.

Entering Moxxi's, Mason was greeted with the sight of Tina sitting at the bar drinking a large glass of soda while the barmaid herself was tending to a couple customers.

"Hey Little T! Have a good time without me?" he asked as he came up and sat on the stool beside her.

Tina hiccuped in surprise at his arrival before beaming up at him. "Yeah! Moxxi's fun! She showed me how to break a man's privates!"

The slayer blinked as Moxxi returned to the bar laughing, "Some fella got too hansy. So I used him as a...'learning aid', to show Tina here how handle men who are like that." she said, inspecting her nails with a grin.

"Thanks again for watching her, Mox." said Mason gratefully.

"Think nothing of it, Sugah. Little Tina was a delight. Makes me think about old times with my own little ones." Moxxi replied with a distant look in her eyes before coming back to the present. "Heard you took out ole' Wilhelm. I think that calls for a drink on me." she added while setting a beer infront of the slayer.

"One less asshole on Jack's payroll." Mason said as he took off his helmet and took a long swig from the bottle offered to him while Tina continued to sip happly on the soda infront of her.

"Figured I'd find you here." the slayer and his charge looked up as Lilith came in and sat on the little girl's other side. "Have fun with Moxxi, Tina?" the Siren asked the girl between them.

Tina smiled at her and nodded. "What brings you by, Lil?" asked Mason as Moxxi brought the red-head a drink.

"Do I need an excuse to hang around our resident, interdimensional badass?" Lilith asked with a coy smirk.

The slayer sent one back, "Not if said badass gets to hangout with a particular _hot_ Siren." he replied with a not so subtle double meaning.

Looking between the two adult confused, Tina decided to speak up. "Are you two going to start kissing now?" she asked innocently.

Mason and Lilith both blushed while Moxxi giggled behind the bar, "Tina, be a dear and come give me a hand for a moment. I believe Mason and Lilith could use a little alone time."

The little girl hopped off her stool and followed the barmaid into the back room, leaving the slayer and the Siren the only ones at the counter.

"Gotta love her childish innocence." Mason said before finishing his drink off.

Lilith nodded, "Yeah, not much of that around here these days." They lapsed back into silence for a few seconds before it couldn't be avoided anymore.

"We-"

"Let's-"

Both froze when they tried to talk at the same time. The slayer shook his head, "Obviously there's something the two of us need to talk about." he said while moving into Tina's vacant spot so they could talk lower without others overhearing.

"Understatement of the decade." Lilith replied, her glowing ember eyes meeting his glowing red. "Look, Mason..." she paused for a bit, thinking on her words. "You wanna get out of here for a while?" she finally asked.

"Just the two of us?" asked Mason, though already knowing the answer. The Siren nodded in confirmation. "Mox, do you mind-"

"Have fun you two!" the woman called from the backroom, Tina's giggling followed right after.

The duo looked to one another again before getting up and leaving the bar. Making their way to the main gate. Neither of them seeing Moxxi and Tina watched them leave with matching smiles before high-fiving each other.

**X**

_**"Mason, you're heart rate is a bit erratic."**_ VEGA said while Mason was driving his technical through the snow covered wasteland with Lilith riding shotgun.

"I'm fine, VEGA." the slayer replied with the external speakers of his helmet muted for privacy. "It's a Human thing, that's all."

The AI was silent for a moment, _**"I see. Does this have anything to do with the emotions you are harboring for Lilith?"**_

Mason rolled his eyes at VEGA's inquiry. "Right on the nose, V. I'm going to be flying solo on this one."

_**"I understand. I'll be available if you require my assistance." **_with that the AI went silent, leaving the slayer to his own devices.

In all honesty, Mason couldn't believe he was going through what he was. He killed demons, walked through Hell itself as though it were a spring day in Central Park, and struck fear into the hearts of monsters birthed from humanity's worst nightmares. Yet at the very core of his being, beneath all the badassery and rage-fueled violence, he was still Human.

And currently he was sitting next to a drop-dead gorgeous woman with the power to melt a man's face off with her brain. A woman he was pretty damn sure shared the idea of the two of them getting together. Neither of them had been subtle with the flirting he and the Siren did back and forth on a regular basis. He wouldn't be surprised if most Sanctuary knew.

Parking the technical on a hill that overlooked the valley below, the duo climbed out before sitting on the hood next to each other with a six-pack of Rakk ale between them that Mason had nicked from Mordecai's hidden stockpile.

"So...you wanna start?" he asked, offering the Siren one of the bottles while cracking open one of his own.

"No point in bullshitting, huh?" Lilith said casually. "Look, obviously there's something between us. I know it, you know it-"

"VEGA knows it." Mason cut in with a chuckle which caused the Siren to laugh too. "In all seriousness Lilith, you're not wrong. The question is, where to we go from here?"

The red-head sighed and leaned back against the windshield, "No idea. Been single since Roland and I broke up. Relationships were never one of my strong points, and not just because I'm a Siren."

The slayer snorted, "I'm not exactly a fountain of knowledge on the subject either. Even before I was locked in that sarcophagus, feels like forever since I had any sort of connection with a woman."

"I take it there's no hot demoness' waiting in Hell?" Lilith asked with a joking smirk.

"Not a chance. " Mason joked back, "Besides, I'm more partial to _Human_ women that can kick a lot of ass." they lapsed back into a comfortable silence, watching as a couple of Skags began fighting on the valley floor.

"If you want my personal opinion. We can take things one step at a time, see how it goes. No point in jumping headfirst into something where-" the slayer was cut off when a warm pair of lips silenced his. Catching him off-guard for the first time since becoming the Doom Slayer.

Lilith broke the contact and smiled at him, "Life's too short. And there ain't no rest for the wicked."

Mason grinned back, "Till we close our eyes for good." he recited back.

"Amen, slayer-boy." the Siren slid across the technical's hood until she was in Mason's lap, arms up around his broad shoulders. "Now, let's see if those hands can do more than rip and tear."

They kissed again, deeper and more emotional than the first. The slayer's hands coming up on Lilith's slim waist to hold her in place with their eyes sliding shut...too enraptured in each other to notice the Siren's markings glowing orange while her ethereal wings stretched out behind her.

An old bond being formed for the first time in thousands of years.

**A/N: Shortest chapter to date, but a decent enough intermission considering a long waited pairing can be established. It's still up in the air on whether or not if I'm making this a harem, and if I decide to go that way there won't be no more than four women with Lilith as the primary.**

**I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about the idea, but I can assure everyone that if I do go with a harem I will give it my all to make it tasteful and worthy of this badass fic.**

**For those wondering if elements of Doom Eternal will be included, I will put those thoughts to rest now.**

**Doom Eternal will play a big part of this story's plot in the future, along with the events of Borderlands 2 and 3. The Vault Hunters are going to get a personal crash in fighting Hell's legion, but there's going to be a lot of build up before we get there, so enjoy the ride for the time being before things really start to get crazy.**

**I may step away from this story for a bit and give the rest of my archive some attention, keep the reviews coming and I'll be sure to keep up the good work.**


	15. Out in the Cold

**_A/N: Been far to long my loyal readers. Had too much on my plate the last couple of months and needed to be away for a while. And with all that has been happening in the world, it's not a surprise. But enough delays, I'm back and I got updates to go with it!_**

**_X_**

The snow covered plains outside of Frostbite Crevasse, by all accounts, was one of many no-man's-lands on Pandora. The only life that existed out that far were Bullymongs and Rakks that had evolved enough to survive the icy skies.

Although, there were a few groups of bandits crazy enough, or dumb enough, to set up shop among the glaciers and ice shelves. But what Mason and Mordecai were looking for at that moment was neither man nor beast...but a very annoying yellow robot.

"Damn, and I thought Three Horns was fucking cold." the hunter complained as he and the Doomslayer drove through the frozen wasteland.

Mason shrugged from the driver's seat, "It's not too bad."

"Coming from the guy wearing Hell-forged power armor. Sorry if I don't take your word for it, amigo." said Mordecai before changing the subject. "So, how have things been going with you and Lils?"

"A real man doesn't kiss and tell." the slayer replied, a smile hidden behind his helmet's visor. In truth, things had been going really well with Lilith since the two of them decided to give a relationship a go. No one in Sanctuary was surprised about them getting together, many had seen it coming including their friends.

Tina had been the most excited about it, she'd taken to being the Siren's shadow as much as she had been Mason's. Though Lilith could be seen smiling whenever the little demolition expert skipped along beside her.

Mordecai snorted as he continued to check their surroundings through the scope of his rifle. Bloodwing nestled in the seat between the duo with her feathers fluffed out and beak in her wing to stay warm in the cold climate.

"_**Liar's Berg is just another kilometer beyond the next glacier." **_said VEGA within the Praetor suit and from the Hunter's the wind, the duo could make out gunfire coming from the general direction they were headed.

"Sounds like we're missing a party." said Mordecai.

The Doomslayer gunned the gas pedal, their technical barreling through the frozen wastelands. The snow drifts giving way to a large sheet of ice that covers the ocean. The sounds of battle getting louder as they got closer to the shore across the glacier they had just been on.

Wheels hitting snow again, the duo went up the embankment and through the shattered remains of a gate that led into the town of Liar's Berg. The technical skidding to a stop when the two raiders found themselves in the middle of a firefight. The citizens were hunkered down in their homes while a handful of defenders and a few CR troops were trading bullets with a group of bandits.

Mason was out of the vehicle, charging into the fray with his HAR sending a barrage of heavy slugs into the attacking bandits. Mordecai stood in the technical with his sniper rifle up as he picked off any and all targets that crossed his scope.

The attacking bandits didn't know what hit them as they were torn to shreds. A handful attempted to shoot at the Doomslayer only for their rounds to have no effect against his armor, even the scant few element rounds did little more than leave a few minor scorch marks.

When the last bandit was dealt with, the defenders of Liar's Berg gathered in the center of town along with the townspeople once they were sure the attackers were gone.

Mason looked around as the townspeople began moving the bodies of the dead bandits and collecting anything of value off of them. One of the remaining Crimson Raider soldiers approached him and saluted, "Sir, Commander Roland told us you two were coming. You arrived just in time."

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"Bad. The local bandits attacked out of nowhere. By the time we were able to regroup with the folks here our outpost had been overrun and we lost half our squad."

"Did your group manage to find anything on our objective?" asked the Doomslayer.

"Sorry, sir. There was word of the bot being seen near here. That's all we were able to figure out before we were attacked. After that we had to focus on defending Liar's Berg." said the Raider.

Mason nodded and approached Mordecai, "Looks like we need to keep looking." the hunter nodded in agreement just as a man came marching out of the crowd toward them. He had dark skin and a bushy mustache and dressed in a safari outfit with a cybernetic arm, leg and eye. A Jakobs sniper rifle held in his hands at the ready as he stood at attention.

"I must say, that was quite impressive, gentlemen." he spoke in a sophisticated tone. "Welcome to Liar's Berg, I am Sir Hammerlock." the man said, standing at attention and saluting them.

"Hammerlock? I think I've heard of you. Aren't you some kind of famous big game hunter?" asked Mordecai.

"Hunter, scholar, zoologist, and just recently, defender of this here glacier." replied Hammerlock. "I came here to study Bullymongs for my almanac when we came under attack by the local bandits."

"Anything you can tell us about them?" asked Mason.

Hammerlock stroked his mustache, "They refer to themselves as the Ripper clan, led by a man named Flynt who fancies himself a Captain. He and his fellow brutes have been causing issues for the people here in the frozen wastes for some time now. They have become quite active since word of the Bloodshots demise came across the echo-waves."

The game hunter looked at Mason more closely before his human eye widened, "My word...it is you! The indestructible armor, and the strength unmatched by neither man nor beast! The one known as the 'Doomslayer'!"

"You've heard of me?" asked the slayer, curious.

"But of course. Your actions against the bandit scum and the invading Hyperion forces here on Pandora has been the talk amongst many circles both from the locals and the echonet." Hammerlock saluted him, "It is an honor to meet a warrior of your caliber."

Mordecai chuckled, "Looks like your fanbase is growing, amigo."

Mason rolled his eyes behind his visor before focusing on the task at hand. "Hammerlock, did you see a small robot wandering around up here? Looks like a yellow metal box with a lone optic?"

"Ah, you must be referring to that old steward bot that took residence in the waste dump a few glaciers to the East. Yes I do recall seeing him on occasion, an annoying little bugger. But I'm afraid he was captured by Captain Flynt and his band of rogues not long ago, their base of operations is just beyond that glacier in the ruins of an old shipping vessel." said Hammerlock while pointing toward the main bandit camp.

"Then we'll be paying Flynt a visit." said the slayer. Turning to Mordcai and motioning back to the technical.

"I can assume that the Rippers will face the same fate as the Bloodshots very soon." said the game hunter. "I wish you both the best of luck, gentlemen. However, considering the stories I've heard about the Doomslayer and the Crimson Raiders, you may not be needing it."

Mason climbed back behind the wheel with Mordecai on his right before they pulled out of the settlement. "I've heard about the Rippers. They got this habit of tearing the flesh off their victims and putting them on display." said the hunter.

"So another typical group of psychotic bastards that need to be put down. Good. Could use a little cardio today." replied the slayer as they pulled up outside a small cluster of crudely made shacks built into and around several ice walls. A small group of bandits and psychos came out to greet them, but they had been mowed down before they got within a few meters of the technical.

"_**I have hacked into Hyperion satellites and scanned the local terrain."**_ said VEGA before bringing up a map of the area on Mason's HUD. _**"The CL4P-TP unit is being held in the old ship situated on the top of an iceberg. I have also detected just shy of a hundred bandits residing within the encampment."**_

Mordecai whistled, "That's a lot of assholes. What's the plan?"

Mason attached the pod-missile launcher and the precision scope to his HAR. "I need you to hang back and provide overwatch with VEGA. I'll take on the bulk of their forces."

The hunter sighed, "Why do you get all the fun?"

"Weren't you the one bitching about me being the one in 'Hell-forged power armor'?" the slayer asked with a smirk clear in his voice. Mordecai rolled his eyes behind his goggles as Mason approached a raised drawbridge. A solid kick breaking the locking mechanism and causing the ramp to slam down onto the deck of a derelict battleship on the other side.

"_**Well, well. Looks like we got ourselves some uninvited company boys! The first one to bring them to me gets to torture them first!" **_a voice that more than likely belonged to Captain Flynt came from their echos.

"_**We got this boss!" **_another voice answered as a bandit in full yellow armor climbed to the top of a dual-barreled cannon on the other end of the ship. "Light the fuses bitches!" he shouted while striking a pose. "I'm ready to-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off when he was hit with a barrage of mini-rockets. His upper half blowing apart in a series of small explosions leaving only his legs which fell from the cannon to the deck below.

"BOOM!" a midget wearing similar armor wailed seeing the man blown apart. "You bastards! I'll-" a three round burst knocked his helmet off a second before a single round went through his forehead and out the back of his skull.

Mason and Mordecai lowered their rifles, barrels still smoking. "You know, that's one of several things I miss about killing demons." said the slayer as they began to walk across the ship's deck. "Less talking, more killing."

"Yeah, but at least they give you a big enough opening to take them out fast." replied the hunter.

A makeshift door in the ice wall by the ship rose up, over two dozen enemies consisting of bandits, psychos and marauders came running out with guns blazing. The duo raised their weapons and opened fire. A volley of .50cal rounds, mini-rockets and sniper rounds tore through their opposition with little difficulty. A small number of psychos attempting a suicide run were targeted by Mordecai which caused several explosions among their ranks and greatly thinned their numbers.

"Do these pendejos even know who they're dealing with?" Mordecai asked as they sloshed through the red drenched snow, Bloodwing perched on one of the bodies and pulling an eyeball from its skull before flying back to her master's shoulder.

"Probably not...but they will soon enough." replied Mason as they went down a steep hill and across the frozen water to the base of the glacier where the Ripper clan had set up their base.

Dozens of shacks were set up all the way to the top where a large ship adorned with a metal crafted dragon that breathed a stream of fire every few moments.

They approached the gate that opened, allowing another group of psychos to come running out to greet them. Mason sent his HAR back to storage and cracked his knuckles, it had been a couple days since he last got his hands dirty.

X

Back at Sanctuary, Lilith found herself in a situation she had never expected to find herself in; Babysitting.

With Mason out looking for Claptrap with Mordecai, the red-haired siren had offered to look after Tina while the slayer was away. Originally, he was going to ask Moxxi to look after her again, but Lilith had wanted to spend some time with her boyfriend's little charge.

She had figured that since she and Mason had started a relationship, she would get to know the little girl that had, for all intents and purposes, become a pseudo daughter to their resident demon-killing badass.

Of course, Tina had already broken the ice on that when it first came out Lilith and Mason were now together. The little girl following the red-head around town every so often much to the amusement of anyone watching.

Currently, Lilith and Tina were sitting on the floor of the living room of the home the girl shared with Mason on either side of the coffee table. A game board laid out between them with a couple figurines and a few sets of dice set up on it with various papers, notepads and small books stacked on the sides.

The siren had felt a little out of her element not long after the slayer had left. Given her rough childhood, she didn't know what to do to keep Tina entertained...but it was through those same thoughts where she came up with an idea.

Hence why she was now in full teacher mode as she explained Bunkers and Badasses to the little demolition expert.

Tina shook the dice in her hands, tongue between her lips as she tossed them onto the board. "23." she said after reading the results.

Lilith looked over the notepad in front of her and grinned, "The orc warlord's head explodes and he falls dead against his throne. Knocking it away from the wall to reveal a hidden room filled with chests. You've found the warlord's secret stash."

"Yahoo! This girl's rolling in gold and guns!" the little blonde cheered which caused the siren to smile more at her excitement. "This game is really fun." she added while hugging Princess Fluffybutt.

"I played a lot growing up, it's pretty easy to get addicted." said Lilith as she marked down Tina's character's progress. She really wasn't doing too bad for a beginner.

Tina picked up the dice and looked contemplative for a moment, "Lilith? You like Mason, right?" she asked suddenly.

Lilith blinked at the sudden question, "Yeah, I like him a lot." she answered honestly.

"Does that mean you guys will get married someday?" the little girl questioned innocently, causing the siren to blush as bright as her hair.

"T-That's...a long ways off, kiddo. We only just started dating." she explained, while at the same time trying to control embarrassment of having such a discussion with a nine year old. "Why all the questions, Tina?"

Tina played with the dress of her doll, "It's just...I lost my mommy and daddy, and I'm still really sad about it. But...Mason takes really good care of me. He teaches me stuff, and tells great stories and makes the bad dreams go away, he's like another daddy." her innocent, albeit a little crazy, blue eyes staring deeply into the older woman's surprised ember ones.

"And...you make him so happy. He was so lonely and surrounded by monsters. And you're so awesome! When you both are with me...I just...I feel like...I have a mommy and daddy again…" the little girl spoke with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

Lilith felt her heart stutter, a foreign feeling overcoming her as she got up and rounded the table before dropping to her knees and hugging Tina to her chest. Her body acting on instinct as the girl cuddled into her.

Never in her life would she have considered something like this happening. Forced to grow up being marked as a siren, breaking laws and killing bandits and outlaws before becoming a Vault hunter with the boys, then becoming a resistance fighter.

Now here she was, holding a little girl that had lost everything, but was looking at her, one of the six most dangerous women in the galaxy, and a demon slaughtering demi-god in human skin, like new parents.

Part of her didn't want to believe it, that it was ridiculous. But another only wanted to hold the girl close and protect her from the horrors of Pandora and beyond, while at the same time caring for her.

She was pretty sure what she was feeling was what Moxxi had once referred to as 'Maternal instincts'.

So lost in her thoughts, Lilith was surprised when her tattoos began to glow a soft orange. A comforting warmth spreading from her and enveloping Tina like a blanket. The little girl cuddled more into the woman holding her while her eyes slowly closed, drifting into a peaceful sleep. Feeling safe in the siren's arms as easily as she had in the slayer's.

Seeing the girl nod off, Lilith just smiled. Even though she was confused about the sudden turn of events, a voice in the back of her head asked a question that kind of put it into perspective;

"_Would it be so bad?"_

X

Another psycho was torn in half. Blood and guts splattering on Mason's visor that he wiped off casually before barreling through a pair of marauders that had been shooting at him from behind a hunk of sheet metal.

It had barely been five minutes since he and Mordecai had arrived. And in that time most of the Ripper clan's compound was in ruins. Several huts were either demolished or on fire with torn body parts scattered about in buckets worth of blood that stained the ice and snow red and pink. The once cocky bandit clan was now in full retreat...but they had nowhere to run but farther up the glacier as the slayer stalked after them, leaving more death and destruction in his wake.

From his vantage point on a small cliff, Mordecai was crouched down and peering through his rifle scope. Picking off any target of opportunity, more or less trying to steal a few kills so that he had something to do at least while Mason did his thing.

"Geez, you could at least try to leave some for us normal pendejos." he said through his comm as he watched the slayer break the neck of a badass psycho before tossing the body off the cliff.

"You're more than welcome to come down here." Mason replied as he picked up the buzzaxe that belonged to the large psycho he had just killed and threw it. The spinning blades burrowing into a bandit's skull where it proceeded to chew through bone and grey matter.

Another bandit stood, grenade in hand. But a bullet hit the explosive causing it to detonate before it could be thrown.

"Nah, I do better at a distance." said the hunter as he loaded a fresh clip into his rifle.

_**"Why aren't those skaglicks dead?!" **_Captain Flynt bellowed over their echos. _**"What the hell are you idiots doing out there?!"**_

_"Captain, he's tearing through us...LITERALLY! I think it's the same guy who took out the Bloodshots!"_ one of the still remaining bandits shouted back.

_**"WHAT?! Why the hell is he here?!" **_Flynt demanded back.

"Try asking him yourself." Mason answered after VEGA sliced into their communications.

Everything was silent for a few beats before the bandit leader spoke again, _**"What the fuck do you want?"**_

Mason raised his foot and crushed a midget psycho under his heel. "Originally, me and my associate came here looking for something. But then, we find that not only are you in possession of what we're looking for, your little crew is attacking the locals." he grabbed a bandit and threw him into a wall where he was impaled on several spikes. "So now, we're intending on lowering the census of local assholes in addition to our search."

_**"What do you mean we have what you're looking for?!" **_the bandit leader demanded before another voice was heard.

_**"Captain Flynt? Can I come down now? All the oil is rushing to my head!"**_ the unmistakable tone of Claptrap's voice in the background.

"_**Shut up you damn rust bucket!" **_Flynt shouted before a metallic 'clang' was heard followed by an 'ouch'.

A bruiser charged the slayer and attempted to tackle him from the side. However, Mason saw him coming and stopped him with a hard punch to the face. He then grabbed the muscle-bound bandit by the arms and tore them from his shoulders before kicking him off the cliff.

"Your camp is looking a little vacant, Flynt." Mason said, dropping the severed arms as he continued his methodical trek up the glacier. "If you're smart, you'll give up now."

"_**Like hell I will! My ship's on lockdown, and there's no way you're getting in here."**_ Flynt said arrogantly.

The slayer looked up at the ship, taking in the vessel itself as well as how it was frozen to the glacier itself. "VEGA?" he asked, his HUD scanning the whole structure and highlighting several points.

"_**Structural weaknesses detected."**_said the AI.

"Mordecai, you and Bloodwing may wanna get some distance away from the bandit compound." Mason said over the comms while bringing out his rocket launcher.

"Oookay...hate to ask, but why?" asked the hunter.

The slayer raised his weapon and targeted the points VEGA highlighted. "Just gonna bring the Captain down with his ship." Whatever Mordecai was going to say next was drowned out as several 3-round bursts were fired from the launcher. Exploding against the glacier near where the ship was anchored to it.

The blasts were followed by the thunderous sounds of the thick ice cracking and splitting, the top of the glacier beginning to give way and collapse as the ship on top of it began to shift.

"_**What was that?! What's happening out-"**_ Captain Flynt was cut off as his ship suddenly dropped a couple meters before sliding backwards. Coming down off the peak with chunks of ice and snow going with it. Crashing into the frozen water and falling forward, the stern half submerged in the ocean with the bow on land, the dragon that decorated it now nothing but a crumpled heap.

When the dust settled, Mason made his way to the crash site. The mangled remains of the ship leaking fuel onto the snow while the bodies of several bandits lay scattered around, most of them dead from the crash.

Pulling out his energy pistol, the slayer shot any still living bandits in the head as he walked past them. Some tried to reach for a weapon, but none were lucky enough to pull them.

Stepping onto the remains of the ship, the slayer went for the bow where he knew Flynt would be held up if he survived. This was proven when the bandit leader came stumbling out of a large door, blood dripping through cracks in his armored clothes with an anchor held in one hand and a Maliwan fire-pistol in the other.

"Y-You...bas-bastard." Flynt slurred as he staggered forward. "Gonna...Gonna kill ya...then fry your corpse."

Mason put his pistol away and kept walking toward the Captain. Flynt managed to find enough strength to lift the anchor and swing it at him, but the slayer's hand snapped out and caught it with ease. His other hand coming around and backhanding the bandit leader hard enough to dent his helmet and send him sprawling to the ship's deck.

Flynt coughed, blood dripping from under his helmet as he rolled onto his back. Raising his pistol and shooting the slayer with fire rounds. The bullets hit the Praetor suit in small bursts of flames, but didn't even singe the armor as Mason approached the bandit leader with the anchor held by the ring on the end.

No words were spoken as the slayer brought Flynt's own weapon up and swung down. The whole ship shook as it crashed down on the Captain's head, crushing it into the deck and spraying blood and brain matter around it.

Mason took a step back and dusted off his hands just as Mordecai came up beside him. "Damn. I give you major points for creativity on that one."

"All the shit I've been through, you learn to improvise." replied the slayer. "Come on, let's find Claptrap and get back to Sanctuary." The duo approached the Captain's cabin and found the place a wreck after the crash, the only thing still intact was a yellow robot in the shape of a box with a blue optic hanging from the ceiling upside down by the lone wheel it used to move around.

"Whoa...that was some ride." Claptrap said as he swung back and forth. His body slowly turned where he saw the two that had entered. "Mordecai? Is that you?! How have you been friend of friends! You and the others find any more Vaults? Kill any good bandits?"

The steward bot continued rambling while Mordecai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm already regretting this." Mason ignored Claptrap's barrage of questions as he approached his dangling form. Grabbing the chain holding him up and ripping it from the ceiling with little effort.

"Wow! Who's your new friend? He's pretty strong." Claptrap continued as the slayer slung him over his shoulder with the chain and carried him out of the cabin. The hunter right behind him as the little robot kept rambling.

Both of them deciding to use the fast-travel station back in Liar's Berg to get back to Sanctuary as quickly as possible.

**_X_**

**_A/N: Violence, bloodshed and a small moment between our favorite siren and mini explosive badass. Gonna be shaking off the cobwebs for a bit, but I can promise some more updates in the near future. So all I ask is to sit tight and your patience will be rewarded._**

**_Till next time folks!_**


End file.
